Open Up
by ilovemygelding
Summary: [FlackOC, eventually DL] Takes place in Season 3, may be some spoilers. Kind of AU. Lindsay makes friends with the new CSI, how will the boys deal with it? Sorry the title isn't very original...
1. The New CSI

Disclaimer: _I do not own CSI:NY or its characters. Ria is my own creation  _

A/N: _Hey everyone! I started this story awhile back, and completely forgot about it until I cleaned my room over the weekend and stumbled across it. It's going to be a FlackOC, and DL. I'm going to try and get away from my fluffy, happy-go-lucky style, but we'll see ;)_

Chapter One

"Detective?" A soft voice called from behind Lindsay. "I have those DNA results you needed."

"Oh, thanks Ria." Lindsay smiled as she took the file from the tech. She turned back to Danny to continue their conversation.

"You know, Flack has a thing for her." Danny stated as he watched Ria walk away. "He admitted to it the other day…"

"Really? Flack has a crush on a girl, and he's not doing anything about it?" Lindsay asked, surprised with Flack's shyness.

Danny laughed a bit. "I'm supposed to get you to do a little intel for him…you know, before he makes his first move."

"You're kidding, right? High school was years ago Danny."

"Come on Montana. Think of poor Flack." Danny smirked.

Lindsay scoffed, but gave in. "Fine, but only because I like Ria. I need to check and make sure Flack is good enough for her."

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That afternoon, Lindsay found herself working with Ria in the lab. While she didn't wear a ring on her finger, Lindsay wasn't so sure she was single. She was cute, young, really quiet, sort of just did her work, no questions asked. Of course, she was shy, that much was obvious. Ria must have felt Lindsay's eyes on her because she blushed and nervously made eye contact with Lindsay. Lindsay smiled at her before returning to her work.

A few minutes passed before Lindsay spoke. "So Ria, you have any plans for the weekend?" Lindsay asked, trying to engage in small talk.

Ria looked up from the microscope and smiled. "Actually, I do. I'm going home for Thanksgiving."

"Thanksgiving? It's only October…" Lindsay questioned.

Ria blushed in response to Lindsay's questioning. "It's the Canadian Thanksgiving. I was able to get Monday off, so I can celebrate it with my family."

"That's nice. Your boyfriend going with you?" she asked curiously.

Ria blushed lightly. "No such creature. Even if there was, I don't know if I could subject him to my family."

They continued chatting for awhile longer before Mac interrupted them. "Sorry to break up the chatter ladies, but we have a body on the Upper West Side. Vicaro will meet you two there." He gave them a small smile before turning to walk away.

"Detective Taylor?" Ria spoke up, Lindsay could here the confusion in her voice. "Both of us? Sir, I'm just a lab tech..."

Mac gave her an encouraging smile. "A lab tech who recently wrote the CSI training exam; and passed it with flying colours. You need to do practical hours in the field before completing your certification. Detective Monroe is experienced enough to start teaching, so she can help you along."

"Mac, are you sure about..." Lindsay started, but Mac held up his hand to silence her and Ria, who had opened her mouth to speak as well.

"I'm sure, you will both be fine. Ria will shadow you today and tomorrow, and then we can get her set up with her own kit after the weekend." With that, Mac was gone.

The girls looked at each other nervously. "Okay." Lindsay began. "I will go get my kit, you grab your coat, and we'll meet at the elevator."

All Ria could do was nod. She was so incredibly nervous. She had only written the training exam for fun. She liked her lab job. The shifts were regular, she had the hang of the routine, and best of all, she was not 'important'. She could slink into the background and just do her job. She didn't have the stress of the CSIs…always trying to catch a killer, dealing with all that death and sadness.

Ria stood at the elevator nervously shifting her weight from one foot to another. Lindsay smiled reassuringly as she walked up to her. "Ready?"

"Uh, not really." Ria chuckled nervously. "I'm not really…being the center of attention, its not really my thing. I don't know if I'll be very useful…"

Lindsay instantly felt bad for Ria. She knew she didn't really have a choice in the matter, Mac had the final say…but then again, Mac would never put her out there if he didn't think she'd be good at it. "You'll be alright. Obviously Mac thinks you'd be a good addition to the team, or he'd never put you out there."

Ria blushed. "Thanks."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ladies." Vicaro smirked as Lindsay and Ria ducked under the crime scene. "Flack'll be jealous when he hears about this…." He licked his lips as he looked Ria up and down.

"Vicaro, the scene, what have we got?" Lindsay snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Right." He grinned giving Ria one last look before checking his notebook. "84 year old male. Neighbour said his health had been good as of late, so was shocked when she dropped off his groceries at lunch to find him dead in his bed."

"Thanks." Lindsay said curtly as she put her kit down on the ground. She handed Ria some latex gloves. "Glove up, take a flashlight, and look around the rest of the apartment, see if anything looks out of place, signs of a struggle, that kind of thing."

Ria nodded, and proceeded to do as Lindsay instructed.

Lindsay turned her attention to the body in front of her. She smiled to herself. Maybe teaching will be fun. Lindsay liked Ria, liked her work ethic. She really hoped they could be friends. It was so very high school of her to think like that, but they could have fun together. Another girl to even things out with the boys.

Once Lindsay has finished with the body, she went to find Ria, see what she had. Everything was pointing towards natural causes, but sudden, unexpected deaths had to be investigated. She walked into the living room to find Ria looking around carefully with the flashlight. Vicaro, on the other hand, was being far less productive. He had his eyes trained on Ria's behind.

"Vicaro!" Lindsay hissed. Ria must have jumped 2 feet in the air. She spun around, catching Vicaro's eyes still trained on her. She blushed furiously and looked to Lindsay.

"I didn't find anything out of the ordinary." She told her, still blushing, and clearly trying to avoid acknowledging Vicaro's attention.

"Me neither. Let's head back to the lab. The body is on its way to the morgue, we'll hear from Sid about COD." Lindsay told her. "Vicaro, we'll let you know what we come back with."

"Sure, have her make the phone call, huh?" Vicaro winked at Ria. "It'll drive Flack up the wall."

Ria's brow furrowed at Vicaro's comment, but she remained silent as she helped Lindsay pack up her stuff.

"You did good Ria." Lindsay smiled as they walked towards the truck. "It was a good case to get started on. Can't believe that you were still patiently looking the whole time I processed the body. It's impressive. Attention to detail."

"Thanks." Ria smiled. "That Detective was a little freaky, but it was fun. As lame as that may sound."

"Just ignore Vicaro. He's a sleaze. Its past dinnertime, you wanna grab a bite to eat before we get back to the lab?" Lindsay asked.

"Sure."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Official COD is stroke. No foul play, so this case is closed." Lindsay said as she walked into the lab where Ria was working.

"So we don't need to process the rest of this?" she asked.

"Nope!" Lindsay smiled. "We get to go home."

"Do you mind if I do anyways? For practice?" she asked shyly.

"Actually, that's a great idea! Let me file this and call Vicaro, then I'll process it with you, in case you have any questions." Lindsay replied.

"Oh, no. You don't have to stay; I can always look it up in a book, or something. I'd hate to keep you…" Ria said quickly.

"Don't worry about it! I'd be happy to!" Lindsay laughed. "I'll be right back."

Hours later, the girls were laughing and chatting while Lindsay taught Ria how to process different pieces of evidence and put them into context. A knock on the door interrupted them. The both jumped and turned around.

"Isn't your case closed?" Hawkes asked from the doorway.

"It is, but I was just teaching Ria a few tricks of the trade." Lindsay smiled. "I guess we got carried away."

"Danny was asking around for you. Something about Flack and Vicaro?" Hawkes grinned.

"Vicaro and Flack?" Lindsay furrowed her brow.

Hawkes grinned. "Nice to have you on the team Ria." He said before he walked away.

"What about Vicaro and Flack?" Ria asked as they began to clean up the evidence they'd been working with.

Suddenly Lindsay realized what Hawkes was talking about. Vicaro must have told Flack about Ria at the crime scene. Vicaro, being the smug ass that he was, probably made a comment or two about Ria to Flack. Judging from his comments earlier, he probably knew what Flack thought about Ria…news travels fast between cops. Lindsay smirked a bit, maybe it was the kick in the pants Flack needed.

"Probably a Detective thing. You know, Vicaro got our case, open and shut, probably gets to go home early." Lindsay tried to cover up.

"Oh, right." Ria smiled. "Well, thanks for everything Lindsay. I liked it. I think I might actually enjoy myself." She laughed lightly. Lindsay saw her eyes dancing. She had never noticed how young Ria looked. The look in her eyes right now was the same look that kids gets when you take them into Toys R Us. Ria was like the little sister Lindsay had wished for.

"See you tomorrow?" Lindsay smiled.

"Actually," Ria said looking at her watch. "More like see you in a few hours."

Lindsay laughed. "Better get home to catch a few hours of sleep then."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


	2. Guns

A/N: _Here is the second chapter. I don't know how often I will be able to update, hopefully at least once a week! _

Chapter Two

"Hey boys." Lindsay greeted as she walked into the lab. She'd only had a few hours sleep before she had to be back at work. "What are we looking at?" she asked.

"Ria is in with Mac and the Chief." Danny said not taking his eyes off the happenings in Mac office.

"Do you know what's going on?" Flack asked, quickly glancing at Lindsay.

"Mac wants her to be a CSI." Lindsay stated. "She came out with me on the case last night, although, from what I've heard you boys already knew that." She smirked.

Danny chuckled. "You should have seen the look on his face Montana. Vicaro really had him goin'."

Lindsay nudged Flack with her elbow. "It's cute Flack. I haven't decided if she's good enough for you yet, so you'd better be nice to me." She grinned evilly.

"Guys, she's comin' out." Danny said quickly, as all three of them made it look like they were doing something important.

Ria smiled gently as she walked past the three of them in the hallway with Mac. "Ever heard that curiosity killed the cat?" Mac grinned.

"We were just makin' sure you weren't givin' the new rookie a hard time." Danny replied. "Gotta look out for her, y'know?"

"Since you're offering, she needs to learn how to shoot a gun. She's all yours Danny." Mac smiled as he handed Danny some paperwork. "You'll have to teach her the basics first, and then get her in the range this afternoon. She is adamant about not wanting to carry one, but she's got to pass the proficiency exam in order to get her badge."

Lindsay burst out laughing. "You're serious? Danny? Teach?"

"What's so funny Monroe?" he asked putting his hands on his hips.

Before Lindsay had a chance to answer, Flack spoke up. "I'll do it."

Mac, Lindsay and Danny just stared at him. "What?" Danny asked.

"I'll teach her. How to shoot. I mean, I've done it before. You know, teaching how to shoot." He stumbled over his words.

Lindsay smiled. "That's so cute Flack. Being all gentlemanly and charming." She patted his shoulder.

Mac bit back a smile. "Okay then. She's all yours." Danny handed him the paperwork just as Ria came out of the locker room.

"Ria, you'll go with Detective Flack. He'll spend the day with you, go through the basics, get you in the range. If he thinks you're good enough, he can probably get you to do the proficiency exam today as well." Mac instructed. "Come and see me before you go, and we'll revise your schedule so that you and Lindsay are on the same shifts."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Okay, first thing. Handle the gun with confidence, not like you are afraid of it." Flack smiled as Ria picked up the gun in the firing range.

"Well, what if I am afraid of it?" she asked quietly as she held the gun awkwardly.

Flack chuckled. "At least pretend you aren't. Here, like this." He gently placed her hands in the proper position on the gun. "Okay, good. Now, you remember the steps to take before shooting?"

Flack took Ria through all the theory he had taught her that morning. It was far less awkward than he had anticipated. Although it was obvious to him that she was extremely uncomfortable about handling a gun, she paid attention, and did her best to follow his instructions.

"Alright, you ready to shoot?" Flack said as he took a step back from her.

"Oh, I don't know…" Ria started nervously.

"Hey, come on now. You've got the theory down, but you've got to shoot to pass the proficiency exam."

Ria took a deep breath. "Ok, I'll try it."

Flack actually laughed out loud as Ria shot at the target twice. Once she had lowered her gun, he spoke. "Alright, let's try it again, but next time, keep your eyes open."

Ria blushed. "Sorry."

"It's ok, just aim for the middle of the target. You'll find you'll aim will get better with your eyes open." He winked at her.

Flack was surprised with Ria's shooing. Once she kept her eyes open, and relaxed, her aim was bang on. It took him 20 minutes to convince her to do the proficiency exam, but he got his way, and just like he'd predicted, she passed.

"I told you you'd pass." He chuckled as they drove back to the lab.

"I should never have doubted you, oh wise one." She said sarcastically.

Flack laughed. As the day progressed, Ria had opened up to Flack more and more. He was starting to get a feel for what type of person she was. Once she relaxed, she had a great a sense of humour. She was one of those genuinely nice people.

"Why don't you want to carry a gun? You'll be at open crime scenes; you may need it for self defence." Flack tried to reason with her.

"I just don't like them. I'm not responsible enough to carry a gun. There are too many 'what ifs'." Ria told him.

Flack looked at her quickly. "You don't think you're underestimating yourself there?"

Ria smiled nervously. "I don't want to kill anybody. I couldn't live with myself. I grew up on a farm." She laughed a bit. "We had a big pigeon problem back home, still do actually. Anyways, when we were kids, my dad would give my brothers pellet guns to go after the pigeons. When I was 10, they figured I was old enough to learn how to shoot the pigeons. The first shot I took, I killed a bird. I couldn't believe it. The poor bird fell right at my feet. I cried for days. And that was just a bird…"

Flack couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh, but I can just imagine the look on your face."

Ria started laughing. "It was terrible! Not funny!!"

That just made Flack laugh harder as he pulled into the crime lab parking lot. They were still laughing about it as they stepped off the elevator. Lindsay and Danny both looked up from the file they were looking at in the hallway.

"It went well then?" Lindsay smiled.

"I passed the exam." Ria smiled.

"She's got good aim." Flack said before bursting out laughing again.

"I'm glad that I could be your comic relief." Ria rolled her eyes. "I'm going to go give this to Mac."

They stayed silent as Ria walked away. As soon as she was out of earshot, Danny spoke up. "You two seem awful cozy, anything you'd like to share?"

"Nothing to share. Taught her how to shoot, she's nice." Flack smiled. "Are we still goin' out tonight?"

"Ya, Patty's in an hour." Danny stated. He turned to call down the hall where Ria was exiting Mac's office. "Ria!"

Her head snapped up, and she blushed as everyone looked at her. Danny waved her over.

"Ya?" she asked quietly. Flack noticed she'd reverted back to her quiet, shy self.

"We are heading to Patty's for a drink. Y'know, Friday night wind down. Wanna come?" Danny asked smiling.

Ria smiled politely. "Thanks for the invite, but I have something to do before I go home this weekend."

Flack heart sank, and he knew his smiled has faltered, but he tried to recover. "You sure, one drink, my treat. For passing the exam." He suggested.

"I'd love to, but I'm a terrible procrastinator, so I haven't even packed yet." She smiled. "I have to make it to the barn before I got home, and I'm always there for hours, even when I only meant to drop by quickly."

"Barn?" Lindsay perked up instantly.

"Oh no, now we're in for it." Danny groaned. "You guys aren't going to start talking about milking cows and repairing tractors, are you?

Ria laughed. "I haven't milked a cow in years. Just my horse here in New York."

"Really? Where do you keep him? Or her?" Lindsay smiled eagerly.

"A barn in Brooklyn. Accessible by the subway, and it's on my way home. She's costing me a fortune, but I couldn't function here without her." Ria said glancing at her watch. "Oh my gosh, I've got to go catch my train! We'll talk when I get back, you'll have to come out and visit her."

"Of course!" Lindsay gushed. "Have a good Thanksgiving. You back Sunday?"

"Thanksgiving is a long weekend back home, so I won't be back until Monday night. I'll be here bright and early Tuesday morning!" Ria replied excitedly.

"Safe trip, have fun and try to relax." Lindsay winked.

"Have a good weekend guys. Thanks for today Flack." She smiled shyly before turning to head to the locker room.


	3. Dumpster Duty

A/N: _Thanks for the reviews guys! My class was cancelled today, and this is the first time this semester, I have no readings and no homework! Yay!! Enjoy!_

Chapter Three

_Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city._

_-__George Burns_

"It's way too early in the morning for this." Lindsay groaned as she ducked under the crime scene tape and stepped into the alley.

Flack smiled as she made her way towards the dumpster. "Not a morning person, Monroe?"

"It's still dark out, it's cold, and something tells me that we are going to have to go through these dumpsters. Not my idea of a great start to the morning." She reasoned as she put down her kit.

"Isn't Ria supposed to be at this scene too?" Danny asked. "She's the rookie; we'll make her do it." He smirked.

"Speak of the devil." Flack grinned as Ria ducked under the tape. He had surprised himself earlier in the morning when he'd gotten the call to go to the crime scene. When it was mentioned that Ria would be at the scene, he actually bounded out of bed, and chose his wardrobe carefully.

"How was your trip home?" Lindsay asked as Ria came up to where they were standing.

"Typical trip home." Ria said quietly. "Whenever I go home, I am constantly reminded why I moved away."

"Thanks bad, huh?" Danny chuckled as he put on his gloves.

"Not really bad, more…suffocating." Ria provided. "The constant questions, advice, people inviting themselves to visit."

Lindsay laughed. "Flack's got your badge, you are officially on dumpster duty, coveralls are in my truck along with your new kit. Once you've started, you have to tell us stories."

Ria laughed as she took her badge from Flack and clipped it on her belt. "Ok, but it's going to be pretty boring."

Once Ria had changed into the rubber boots and coveralls, she hoisted herself into the dumpster and began digging around. "Anything in particular I'm looking for?" she called to the others.

"Murder weapon, bloody clothes, anything like that." Danny provided. "And while you're looking, you can start telling us what went down over the weekend."

Ria sighed. "Well, I flew from LaGuardia to the McDonald-Cartier Airport in Ottawa. I landed around 10am I think. Anyways, my daddy was there to pick me up."

"Daddy?" Danny snickered from the alleyway.

"Don't interrupt!" Lindsay scolded.

"Yes, my _daddy_ picked me up and took me home. We were home in time for lunch. Saturday is baking day, so my mom and I did the pumpkin pies, apple pies, and jam jams."

"Jam jams?" Danny interrupted again.

"You know, you put jam between to soft, plain cookies?" Ria provided. "It's for the kids! We spent the afternoon baking while the guys did their thing, when out with the ATVs and whatnot. Look, I told you it was boring!"

"Keep going." Flack surprised himself by talking. Lindsay winked at him before he continued. "It was more exciting than the weekend we had." He covered up.

Ria laughed lightly. "Okay then. I got to go out and spend time in the barn while my mom made supper. I have 4 older brothers, the two oldest are married and live in town, and the other two live near my parents and help on the farm. So, whenever I go home I always have to deal with them. Anyways, long story short, they locked me in the hayloft for a bit, and then once they let me out, they grabbed me and threw me in the pond. Dinner was typical, kicking each other under the table, they were laughing like maniacs, so I'm sure they tainted my food somehow, but what I don't know can't hurt me."

"You grew up with 4 older brothers?" Danny said, like all of a sudden it all made sense to him. "That's why you're so shy and quiet. Stay out of the way so you won't get tortured type thing?"

Ria blushed. "I guess so. But it doesn't work."

Lindsay laughed. "So, then what?"

"Are you serious? You really want the whole weekend re-hashed?" Ria asked again as she sifted through the dumpster. She was greeted by silence, so she assumed she was supposed to continue. "Well, I went to bed right after dinner. The animals have taken over my room, so one dog slept on my bed with me, the other two on the floor. Sunday morning we got up started the turkey and headed to church. We came home for the last little bit of quiet time for the weekend. Around 2 is when the family started to close in on my parents place. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, you get the idea. Things get rowdy, I usually slink off to the barn with a little kid of two and brush the horses, but this year…was torture." Ria flinched at the memories.

Danny laughed. "This oughta be good."

"I was stuck in the kitchen! Can you believe that?! Me! In the kitchen with my mother, my grammy, and my aunts. It was like "let's pick on Ria" time. How is New York? Why didn't you bring a boy home with you? What do you mean you are single? Your clock is ticking dear…" Ria said angrily from inside the dumpster. "I suffered through 3 hours of questioning in order to enjoy my turkey dinner. And I'm not even sure if it was worth it."

Lindsay, Flack and Danny were all trying to hold in their laughter. Lindsay was the first one to crack. She just burst out laughing, causing Ria to poke her head up over the edge of the dumpster. "What's so funny!?" she demanded.

"It's just…the tone of your voice." Danny laughed. "You are actually really pissed off about it." He continued laughing.

Ria huffed in annoyance before returning to her dumpster duties. "Fine, no more stories for you guys!"

"Oh come on Ria!" Lindsay protested. "We're just laughing _with_ you."

"Aha!" she exclaimed from inside the dumpster. "I think I may have fun something." She smiled brightly as she held up a gun for them to see.

"Fantastic!" Danny said happily. "You can come out of there now. You are definitely gonna need a shower when you get back. You stink!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"All in all, you had a good trip home?" Lindsay asked Ria as they changed in the locker room once they were back at the lab.

Ria smiled. "Ya, I love to go home, but it's really good to come back."

"I know the feeling, although I haven't been back home since I moved here, the weekly phone calls are the only reminder I need of why I moved away." Lindsay laughed.

"Hey guys, I brought our vic's dealer in for questioning." Flack's voice echoed in the locker room. "He's waiting in the interrogation room, I thought maybe – shit! I'm sorry!" he said as he rounded the corner and quickly covered his eyes with his hands. Lindsay was sitting on the bench while Ria was standing in front of her locker in her bra, just about to put her shirt on. She blushed a dark shade of red at Flack's reaction.

"Which room Flack?" Lindsay asked smiling.

"Uh, room 2." He said his hand still over his eyes. "He's pretty pissed off."

"Ria, you should come and watch, see the great detective here as he puts on the heat." Lindsay said sarcastically as she walked by Flack. He could hear Ria chuckling beside him.

"I'm decent now detective. You can uncover your eyes." She told him before exiting the locker room.


	4. Friends

More personal background (in lab); 1st interrogation; Lindsay meets horse

Chapter Four

_Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms._

_-__George Eliot_

"Ok, so the dealer is a jerk, but his alibi checked out." Flack said as he walked into the lab where Lindsay and Ria were working.

"I lifted two sets of prints off the gun." Ria spoke up. "One belonged to our vic, the other is running through AFIS now."

"So basically, at this point, we have nothing?" Flack asked, slightly annoyed.

"Pretty much." Lindsay confirmed.

"Just great. Call me when the prints come back, huh?" Flack said and he turned to walk out. Lindsay didn't even have a chance to respond.

"He seems to be in a mood this afternoon…" Ria commented not looking up from the microscope.

"He's just trying to do damage control. Caught him off guard earlier seeing you in the locker room." Lindsay winked. "The fact that he didn't stare leads me to believe he might actually respect you. And that takes this to a whole new level."

"What are you talking about?" Ria looked up and her.

"The thing…that Flack has for you…" Lindsay looked at her expectantly. "Don't tell me that you don't see it."

Ria just stared at her blankly.

"Ok then, from the top. This is so incredibly high school, I cannot believe it…but, Flack, has a thing for you. I originally thought it was an "I want to get in her pants" thing, but now I think it's a bit more than that." Lindsay pondered.

"You have _got_ to get out more, Lindsay." Ria laughed. "I think you are inhaling chemicals that you are not supposed to be inhaling."

"You're in denial, ok. I see that, and I respect that. Just don't say I didn't warn you, ok?" Lindsay smiled.

"People like him, don't go for people like me." Ria provided as she started back to work.

"Care to explain?" Lindsay pressed.

"He's tall, handsome, charming, the type of guy who shows up with the blond haired blue eyed, D-cup model on his arm." Ria smiled at the mental picture she had formed in her brain. She looked at Lindsay. "You are the one that is in denial."

"In denial of what?" Danny asked as he walked into the room.

Lindsay regarded Ria for a moment. She firmly believed what she had just said. It was like she had come to terms with the fact that Flack was too good for her. "Nothing." Lindsay told Danny. "We were just joking around."

"Well, Flack's got someone in interrogation who claims to have shot our vic." Danny said as he eyed them suspiciously.

"That would be too good to be true." Lindsay murmured. "Danny, can you wait here for that print to finish going through AFIS, Ria and I will go down to interrogation."

"Whatever." He mumbled waiving his hand dismissively. _'Women, I'll never understand them.'_

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Let me get this straight Mrs. Eggins." Ria started slowly. Lindsay had convinced Flack to let her and Ria do the interrogation together. He was reluctant, but Ria had totally stepped up to the plate and was close to closing this case. "You asked your husband to meet you in an alley so you could talk about the divorce he was refusing to give you?"

"That's correct." The woman answered coldly.

"Things got heated, so you shot him?" Ria asked, trying to keep her voice objective, but Flack could tell that there was a hint in disbelief in her voice.

"I did. That bastard refused to give me a divorce. I was trapped in this horrible marriage. He locked me out of our finances, and had me on an allowance. I was so frustrated, I just shot him. It was the only thing I could think of." The woman answered.

"And what did you do with the gun, Mrs. Eggins?" Ria asked calmly. Flack had goosebumps. Ria was handling this exceptionally well. Never lost her cool, kept her voice even, but there was still friendliness in her voice.

"I threw it in a dumpster. The green one, with the black lid. If you look in there you'll find it. It was his gun. He has it in the house for protection." She replied, her voice wavering a little. "I just didn't know what to do…"

Flack saw Ria's shoulders slump a little bit. She felt bad for the woman, Flack could tell. "Mrs. Eggins, Officer Lily will take you to central booking."

Once Officer Lilt had taken the woman away, Ria started putting the file back together. Lindsay looked at her thoughtfully before speaking.

"You did a good job Ria. Didn't lose your cool."

"How could she think that killing him was the only way out?" Ria asked Lindsay.

"She was frustrated, felt trapped. Fight or flight response, she felt she had no choice."

Ria just shook her head. Flack chose that moment to enter the rooms. "Nice work ladies." He said, trying to raise the mood. "Danny and I are gonna head out for a drink, you wanna come?"

Lindsay smiled; she knew what Flack was up to. "Sorry Flack. I have a date with Ria tonight. We are going to the barn."

Flack tried not to look too deflated. "Well, you girls have a good time playing in the muck." He commented.

"Oh we will." Lindsay smirked. "You're just jealous. But we'll remember to include you next time." She winked.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Ok, I'm ready to go!" Lindsay said excitedly as she met Ria at the elevator doors. "How long will it take to get there?"

"I usually walk to Rockefeller Centre and catch the F train. About 10 minutes of walking, then 30 minutes on the train." Ria said picking up her backpack.

"I'm so excited. I haven't smelled a barn in so long…" Lindsay said dreamily.

"I don't think I've ever seen you girls look so casual…jeans and hooded sweatshirts?" Danny jeered as he came down the hallway with Flack.

"We aren't going to go to a barn dressed in dress shoes and nice pants." Lindsay shot back. "It's like horses can sense when something needs to stay clean, and they try their best to dirty it."

"You know Ria, you are like the answer Montana's prayers. Now she can pet horses and smell shit to her little country hearts content." Danny laughed.

"Well, I'm happy to be useful." Ria smiled. "We must be going now. Allie is waiting."

"We'll see you boys tomorrow!!" Lindsay called as they stepped onto the elevator.

Danny and Flack watched to doors close. They both sighed at the same time. They both jumped when Stella spoke up from behind them. "You guys have it so bad, it's pitiful." She chuckled.


	5. Home With Flack

A/N: _I can't believe how much writing I actually got this much writing done! Here is Chapter five! Enjoy!_

Chapter Five

"_Drivin' a race car is like dancing with a chain saw." -Cale Yarborough _

"So you met the horse?" Flack asked Lindsay, trying to sound casual.

Lindsay smiled. "I did. She's a really nice mare. Ria loves her to bits and pieces. That's you're competition, Flack."

Flack scoffed. "I don't know what you're going on about Monroe."

Danny chuckled. "She knows man. Everyone knows, except for Ria."

"Ria knows." Lindsay told them casually as she snapped more pictures.

"Come again?" Flack asked seriously.

"I told her, but she's in complete denial. She's probably forgotten I even mentioned anything. Stella knows too, she mentioned something to me the other day. Hinted to Mac that you and Ria work well together, so she suggested that she should always be on your cases." Lindsay smiled.

"Guys!" Danny called from the back of the house. "We've got more."

Lindsay and Flack went to the back of the house to find Danny staring at 3 more bodies. "Holy crap." Flack murmured. "What the hell went on here?"

"You'd better call Mac. I think Ria is on call." Lindsay told Flack.

Forty five minutes later, Ria ducked under the crime scene tape carrying her kit. "Hello Sunshine." Danny called to her.

Ria just shot him a look as she took the gloves out of her kit. Both Flack and Lindsay raised their eyebrows. Danny smiled, he was ready for a good session of 'let's annoy the grumpy one.'. "You're not happy to be call into work on this lovely Sunday afternoon. The sun is shining; fall is in the air…what could be better?"

"I don't want to talk about." She grumbled. "Let's just process this scene."

"What's up with you?" he pushed. "Get called away from that someone special?"

"I was watching my race, if you must know. There is no way I'll make it back to watch the end. Called away at lap 300…" she murmured.

"You watch racing?" Danny asked in disbelief.

"I do." She smiled for the first time since she'd shown up at the crime scene.

"Flack watches NASCAR." Danny jerked his thumb in Flack's direction. "He's a Jeff Gordon fan."

"Kasey Kahne fan myself." Ria smiled. "One day, I will marry him."

Flack laughed. "You're gonna have to fight off a shit load of girls for him."

"Nah, the second he lays eyes on me, he'll realize we're meant to be." She winked.

"Who was leading when you go called away?" Flack asked.

"Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson." She said as she picked up some trace off the ground. "Kahne was 20th or 22nd I think."

Flack chuckled. "See what happens when you go for looks instead of skill? I mean, you're wearing a pink Kasey Kahne sweater. What self respecting man sells pink merchandise??"

"He's got a point there." Danny smirked.

"Alright children, let's all get back to work. I have a feeling this is going to be a long one." Lindsay scolded.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lindsay hadn't been kidding. Three days later, they were still working the case. Mac, Stella and Hawkes had jumped in on the case as well. Flack had found a few old case files with the same MO, and they were now trying to determine whether or not they had a serial killer on their hands.

"The same MO was used in 2 unsolved cases. One in 2000, one in 2003." Flack said grimly. "The murders in 2000 were committed in Las Vegas; the murders in 2003 were in Montreal, Canada."

Ria's head snapped up from the file she was looking at. "Montreal? The Boxing Day murders?"

Everyone looked at her. "You know about them?" Flack asked surprised.

"I do. When I went to school, the case was unsolved, but cold, so we used to look over the file, have class discussion about it. Review the crime scenes photos, pictures, that sort of thing." She provided, her brow furrowed. "It was a pretty messy scene if I remember correctly. A couple new to the area. I think I may have my notes on it here in New York. I can't believe I didn't see it before…"

"That's a great place to start." Mac said standing up. "Flack, you take Ria to her place, see if you can find your notes. I will make some calls, and get what I can from Montreal."

Flack motioned for Ria to follow him. They walked to the elevator and Lindsay and Danny stood in the doorway watching them go, wearing matching grins. "Think they'll ever just get it over with and get together?" Flack asked Ria as the elevator doors closed.

"So I'm not the only one who's noticed it?" Ria giggled.

Flack scoffed. "It's been going on ever since she first got here. He's just afraid that she might actually be _good_ for him."

"She's completely into him." Ria said as they stepped off the elevator. "It's completely obvious."

Flack laughed. "So where are we heading?"

"Brooklyn. Coney Island Avenue, near Prospect Park." Ria supplied as she fastened her seatbelt.

Flack sat in silence for a bit. He glanced over at Ria as he started over the Brooklyn Bridge. She was leaning against the window, her eyes closed. Flack could tell by her even breathing that she was sleeping. Lindsay had mentioned that she'd been adamant about working, and had only taken small cat naps in the break room.

Flack let her sleep until he reached the Prospect Expressway. "Ria?" he said gently. "Ria?" he repeated as he shook her shoulder lightly.

"Huh?" she asked sleepily.

"Where do I go now? We're on the Prospect Expressway." Flack smiled.

"Gosh, I'm sorry. I can't believe I fell asleep." She blushed. "You're best bet is to turn onto Caton Avenue, then turn onto Coney Island Avenue going away from the Park. It's the first apartment complex on the right."

Flack pulled up in front of Ria's building and shut off the engine. "It might take me awhile." She told him. "I might need you to look through some stuff with me."

"Sure." He replied, trying not to let the excitement show in his voice.

He followed her into the building but stalled at the elevator as she went towards the staircase. "The stairs?" he whined.

Ria laughed. "I'm on the 3rd floor. You don't need to elevator to go up to the 3rd floor Flack."

Flack made a face, but followed her up the stairs anyways. "You live alone?" he asked, trying to break the silence. Not really the best choice of words, but it got the job done.

"I do." She said opening the door to her floor. "Well, I have a fish. His name is Sammy. I won him at the fair during the summer."

Flack could barely hide the anticipation as he stood at Ria's door. "Here we go, home sweet home." She said as she opened the door.

The first thing Flack noticed that it was very neat and tidy. She had a lot of family pictures on the shelves. It was a small studio apartment, but she had it decorated so it didn't look stuffy. "I hope you don't eat fish on that table." Flack gestured towards her kitchen table where her fish bowl was placed in the centre.

"I don't eat fish." Ria laughed. "But even if I did, you think I would be that cruel?"

"You never know." Flack smirked. "What can I do to help?" he asked as she opened her closet.

"Ok, if it's here, it's either in a box in here, or it's under my bed." She made a face as she motioned towards her bed. "I say we each take a box. The bed is a last resort."

Flack rummaged through the various papers in the box. It was mostly old school papers, he ran across a couple of high school report cards. He smiled as he pulled out a picture album. "Any chance it's in here?" he grinned.

"No!" she gasped, trying to take it from him. She lunged at him, but he was anticipating it, and was able to hold her back as he leafed through the pages of the album. "A whole different side of you Ria." He grinned. They were picture of Ria all dressed up. She ranged in age from infant to what looked like her high school prom.

"My mother put that together to remind me that I am a woman, and I _can_ wear a dress." She scoffed as she turned back to leafing through her box.

"Oh, this looks promising…" Flack said a few minutes later as he pulled a file out of the box.

"That's it!" she squealed in happiness, quickly blushing to cover it up. "Good job detective!"

Flack smiled proudly as he looked through the file. He was surprised. There were photocopies of official documents covered in Ria's handwriting. There were also pages of handwritten notes. It looked like Ria had written down questions, and her own interpretations of the evidence. "You really worked hard on this case, huh?" he asked as she locked the door behind them.

"Ya, it was a big case. It happened and hour away from where my parents live. I remember seeing it on tv when it happened." Ria told him. "It's one of those things that really sticks with you, y'know?"

"Ya, I get what you mean." He smiled at her. He turned his attention to his phone ringing in his pocket.

"Flack. Ya, we found it. It's like two inches thick Mac." Flack chuckled. He glanced at Ria as Mac talked to him over the phone. "Sure, I'll tell her. Bye."

"What did he say?" she asked.

"He called Montreal, but he couldn't get anyone who understood English well enough to figure out what he wanted." Flack smiled. "He wants you to call them as soon as we get back.

Ria fell asleep on the drive back to the lab, and Flack had to wake her again once he parked the car in the garage. "Ria? We're here."

"Jeez, sorry. Again. Usually I can't sleep in the car. You must have the magic touch." She smiled. Flack felt weak in the knees as she walked away.

"Good! You're back!" Lindsay exclaimed as they stepped off the elevator. "You need to call Montreal, Mac is _livid_ because he couldn't get the file."

Ria laughed. "I should have mentioned it before. But I have all the files in both languages, although my notes are scribbled all over them. Do I just ask them to courier the file over?"

"Yes, please." Mac said from behind Lindsay. "You can call from the conference room, and then brief us on what you know. LVPD is sending us what they have as well."

The walked into the conference room and Ria picked up the phone to dial the number Mac had given to her.

"Allo, puis-je parler avec Capitaine Martineau?" Ria spoke into the phone. "Merci."

"Capitaine Martineau, ici Ria Donlan avec le Crime Lab de New York. Oui, Monsieur Taylor travaille avec moi. On a besoin de votre dossier sur les meurtres du lendemain de Noel." Ria listened to what the Montreal cop was telling her. Flack was totally impressed with her knowledge of another language.

"Merci, Capitaine. Au revoir." Ria smiled as she hung up the phone. "He said that he would courier the file to us as soon as possible. They have a fair amount of stuff. Two boxes worth. The interviews were done in French, but most of the other stuff is bilingual."

"Great job, thanks Ria." Mac smiled, looking relieved. "Can you brief us on what you've got in your file?"


	6. Started with a Snowball

A/N: _Here is chapter six!! I'm writing like crazy, I just can't stop myself! I have no class tomorrow (yay!) so hopefully I'll have another update for you guys!_

Chapter Six

_The aging process has you firmly in its grasp if you never get the urge to throw a snowball._

_-__Doug Larson_

"Welcome to Wollman Rink." Danny said proudly as Lindsay and Ria walked up to the crime scene.

"It's amazing!" Ria gushed. "But who kills someone in the middle of a skating rink?" she asked pointing towards the man in the center of the rink surrounded by a pool of blood.

"Who knows why anyone does anything?" A gruff voice came from behind her.

Danny immediately went serious. "Captain Flack, this Ria Donlan, and Lindsay Monroe, ladies, Captain Flack."

The corners of Lindsay's lips twitch into a smile. She tried to hide it from the Captain's view, but he noticed.

"Yes Detective Monroe, I am Detective Flack's father." He said in an intimidation tone before breaking into a smile.

Danny let out a breath. Flack's dad had definitely mellowed in his old age. Lindsay smiled politely. "I can definitely see the resemblance."

"My wife always tells me the apple didn't fall far from the tree." Captain Flack laughed. "Now, the body?"

"Let's get to it." Lindsay motioned to the rink. "So Ria, you're first American Thanksgiving, any plans?"

"I think I'm going to do the Macy's parade." Ria smiled as she went to step onto the ice.

"Be careful on the ice, huh?" Danny smirked. "It's hard to walk on…"

"I practically grew up on the ice, Messer." Ria sneered. "We had a pond behind the house, I played hockey as a kid, of course. I did some time as an assistant therapist for the hockey team in University, so I'm used to walking on ice."

Lindsay watched as Ria stepped onto the ice like it was second nature. She changed her stride slightly, but walked with ease towards the body. Once she reached the body, she looked back at Danny and Lindsay expectantly. "Are you coming?!" she called smiling.

Danny scoffed and stepped onto the ice confidently. Lindsay was totally not prepared for what happened next. Danny had taken two steps onto the ice before he started to slip. His feet were slipping in every direction and his arms started flailing. The look on his face was priceless. After a good 10 seconds he landed right on his behind. Lindsay looked towards Ria who was already dashing over to Danny's side.

"Oh my God, Danny, are you ok?" she asked as she kneeled down beside him.

"My ass." He hissed.

Ria burst out laughing. "I have _never_ seen anything so funny in my entire life! The way your arms were going, it was hilarious!!" Tears were streaming down her face as she stood back up.

"I'm so happy that you found it funny." Danny muttered as he tried to get up. Ria held out her hand to help him stand. "Don't tell Flack, ok?"

"Too late!" Flack's voice echoed from behind him. They turned around and saw Flack standing with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Let's get back to business kids." Captain Flack motioned towards the body. "I'd like to get home in time for dinner."

Lindsay, Danny and Ria quietly went on to process the scene. Once the body was taken away and the scene was processed, the CSIs started packing up their kits. Ria opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a snowball hitting the back of her head. She spun around in time to catch Flack ducking behind a tree.

"Oh, he's gonna get it…" she muttered. "Can you take my kit to the truck?" she asked Lindsay. Lindsay nodded in amusement.

Ria set off in Flack's direction. Once she got to the snow, she made a snowball and held it behind her back. Lindsay and Danny watched as she waited patiently.

"Interesting strategy, no?" Danny asked, raising his eyebrows.

"She grew up with 4 older brothers Danny; this is a cakewalk for her." Lindsay laughed.

"You sound like your talking from experience." He smirked.

"I only had to fend off 2 older brothers." Lindsay chuckled.

Ria stood patiently, waiting for Flack to get bored and come out from behind a tree. She heard rustling behind the tree. She smiled evilly, it took less time than she thought. Obviously he'd never been involved in a true snowball fight. He poked his head around the tree, and was greeted with a snowball in the face.

Ria squealed in delight when she hit her target. She turned to run away, confident that Flack would be looking for revenge, but she slammed into someone's body. She heard Flack yelling behind her, and his footsteps in the snow. Suddenly, his voice died down, and footsteps slowed. Ria looked up nervously.

"Are you two finished?" Captain Flack asked as he looked pointedly at his son.

Ria smirked as she saw Flack blush and duck his head like a little kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Yes sir." He murmured.

"Very well then." He continued with a stern look on his face. "Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and since you two are such good friends, perhaps Ms. Donlan would like to join us for dinner?"

Flack shot his father a look. Captain Flack looked to Ria for an answer. She looked back and forth between the two men. "Oh, um, I don't want to be a burden."

"Nonsense." Captain Flack waved his hand. "Junior's mother will be thrilled that he's bringing a young lady home for dinner. Your first American Thanksgiving, we'd better make it memorable." He smiled and winked at Ria before walking off.

"How did you do that?" Flack asked.

"Do what?" Ria asked, still stunned at the conversation she had just had.

"Make him smile." Flack said with furrowed brow.

Lindsay came running up to them smiling. "You're taking her home to meet your mom, Flack?!"

Flack groaned while Ria started laughing.

"It's adorable." Lindsay smiled. "She'll love you Ria."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Remind me why I'm doing this?" Ria asked from her bathroom.

Lindsay laughed. "Because you loooooooooove him."

"I do not!" Ria called out.

"I'm just kidding with you. But, for the record, you guys would be really cute together."

Ria sighed as she stepped out of her bathroom. "I don't even know why I'm nervous, who cares if she doesn't like me, right?" she smiled nervously.

Lindsay looked up from her magazine and smiled. "How could she not like you?!"

"She thinks I'm his date!" Ria protested. "Don't mothers get all overprotective and prodding when their baby boys bring home dates?"

"Well, you guys aren't dating, so you have nothing to worry about." Lindsay replied smugly. "And I like that outfit. That's the one."

Ria looked down at her clothing. "You sure? Really? A skirt?" Lindsay had convinced her try on a black skirt with long sleeve pink shirt.

"Yes, a skirt. You need to make a good impression. Just in case." Lindsay winked.

"In case what?" Ria asked as she looked around for her purse. Her head snapped up when she heard a knock on her door.

Lindsay smiled as she got up to answer the door. "You know what I'm talking about." She replied before opening the door. "Wow, I don't think I've ever seen you in jeans Flack." She smiled.

"My mother hates when I show up in a suit. She says it makes it seem like I just came from work, and apparently I'm grumpy after work." He replied smiling.

"I'm ready." Ria smiled as she put her purse over her shoulder.

"A skirt, Donlan?" Flack raised his eyebrows.

"Jeans, Flack?" she replied sarcastically. "You'll give Allie her carrots?" she asked Lindsay.

"You kids go and have fun. Don't worry about Allie, I'll go visit her before I go home, explain to her why you abandoned her on a holiday." Lindsay winked.

Ria chuckled as her and Flack exited her apartment. "Okay, special instructions for today." Flack said seriously. "Call me Don, because saying Flack will get multiple responses. My family is crazy, so ignore everything they say, especially if it comes from my sisters. Lastly, don't go in the kitchen….I don't know what happens in there, but girls go in there, and they are never the same."

"Just how big is this going to be?" Ria swallowed nervously.

Flack shrugged. "Parents, three sisters and their husbands. I have an array of nieces and nephews, they'll be around too." He looked at her as he got into the car. "No need to be nervous."

"You don't look so sure of it yourself." Ria smiled.

"It's family." He winced.

"Well, I've never been to Yonkers before. So I'm looking forward to the drive." She said as she settled into her seat.

The drive to his parents' house was silent. Ria spent most of her time staring out her window, watching the scenery. There was something about her that was different from the other girls. Maybe it was her innocence. He knew she hadn't spent much time in the big city, maybe that was why she always saw the good in people; she had never really seen what people could do to each other.

He had done some digging into her background. He blamed it on the Detective in him; he just had to know. He didn't come up with much. He found her high school information; she looked the same now as she did when she graduated. He found that refreshing, she still seemed young and fresh. It was enlightening. He could see was his father liked her. His father…completely surprised him yesterday at the rink. He couldn't believe it. Maybe his mother had finally rubbed off on him, and he too had joined her in her mission for more grandchildren.

"Here we are." He announced as he parked the car.

"Wow. Don, this house is beautiful." She looked at him and smiled brightly. His stomach flip-flopped at the use of his first name.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Not really, but let's go." She replied.

They weren't even on the steps yet when the front door flew open and two women came rushing out. "It's true!!" The shorter one squealed. "Junior brought a girl home!"

Flack chuckled lightly as the girls hugged him simultaneously. "How's Ma takin' the news?" he asked as they parted.

"She's got your wedding planned." The taller one told him before turning to Ria. "I hope you like fall weddings." She winked. "She's also got your first child named and her godparents chosen."

"Ria, my sisters, Evelyn and Rachel." Flack introduced them as he placed a hand on Ria's lower back. With this simple gesture, Ria was nervous again.

"Look at that Evie." The taller one gushed. "He's doing the token 'reassuring hand on the back'. Junior, you've grown up."

"Will you two just let us in?" he said shooting them both a dirty look. He leaned in to talk to Ria.

"You alright?" he whispered. She nodded, but he could tell that she was nervous.

"There they are!!!" Ria heard a voice calling from down the hall. A plump, salt and pepper haired woman came around the corner. "You must be Ria." She said as she gave her a big hug. "Junior, she's beautiful, how did you manage to convince her stick with you?" she winked.

"Ma, please don't." Flack whined.

"It could be worse Junior." A woman said from behind Flack's mother. She stepped around his mother and gave Flack a hug.

"Ria, this is the only normal member of my family. My oldest sister, Anna. Don't worry; she's not fat, just pregnant." He smiled as Anna swatted him playfully. "Anna, this is Ria."

"So I've heard. The CSI who can throw a mean snowball." She smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

Ria smiled and shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you. When are you due?"

"Yesterday, actually." Anna laughed. "Little bugger just doesn't want to come out."

"That's enough small talk. Junior, you go in the living, the kids will be happy you're here. Ria, you can join us ladies in the kitchen. I've already gotten Junior's baby albums out." Mrs. Flack smiled.

"Ma…" Flack groaned.

"What? It could be worse. I could go on about her decent childbearing hips, and with the two of you as parents, your children would have beautiful eyes…"

"Okay!" he held up his hands. "I get it, but baby pictures?"

"It's ok Don, I can handle it." Ria smiled, her eyes dancing. Flack narrowed his eyes and regarded the situation. He sighed in defeat.

"Oh I _really_ like her." Evelyn smiled. "Put you in your place like it was nothing! I think she's the only person in the world who calls you Don. Bet that gets you a little hot under the collar…"

"Evelyn Maria Flack!" her mother scolded. "That's enough."

Flack sat in the living room listening to the kids talk about their latest adventures for what seemed like hours. He strained to catch snippets of the conversations going on in the kitchen but it was no use. He was actually chased out of the kitchen when he went in for a beer, only to have it delivered to him a few minutes later by Anna who needed to sit down.

"She's seen you baby pictures." She smiled. "And heard the birth story. She also knows we dressed you up in pink frilly dresses as a young child."

"Thanks Anna. I really appreciate it." Flack said sarcastically.

"She said that you two weren't dating; which I believe, but I think there is something more there." She said watching his expression carefully. "Is there something there Junior?" she pressed.

Flack looked at her and gave her a sheepish smile.

Anna squeezed his arm. "I don't think you'd be disappointed if you asked her out. Evie and Rachel like her. Ma adores her. She knows her way around the kitchen. Once she relaxed, she really opened up. She was really interested in the family, what you were like away from work, what you were like as a kid."

Flack raised his eyebrows.

"Aha. I knew there was something there." Anna winked.

"Okay. I need parents in here to serve plates for the kids!" Flack's mother called from the kitchen. The kids squealed as they dashed to the kitchen to await their dinner. Anna motioned for her husband to go with the kids.

Ria came over to sit with Flack and Anna on the couch. She ended up sitting a little closer to Flack than she had anticipated. Anna noticed the look of pleasant surprise on Flack's face.

"What are holidays like back home for you Ria?" Anna asked smiling.

"Pretty much the same." She laughed. "Women in the kitchen, guys in the living room. Except we watch hockey, not football. The kids usually convince someone to play with them outside."

"Do you find it hard living so far away from home?" Anna asked.

Ria leaned forward practically leaning on Flack's chest as she got into the conversation a little more. "I did at first, but I go home for all the big holidays. It's only an hour plane ride away. It's nice to have something of my own."

"I couldn't imagine being so far away." Anna admitted. "I admire you for that. I mean, I don't know what I would have done is Ma hadn't been so close when I had my first baby."

Ria laughed. "I already told my mother she had to come down to help me. I also plan on making my husband take his paternity leave. After all, it is half his kid."

Anna laughed. "You hear that Junior? She's gonna put you to work."

Ria blushed as Flack chuckled. "She already does. You should see her at crime scenes. Miss Bossy Boots."

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, I blame it on the hormones. But you two are so incredibly cute, I just wanna hug you!" Anna giggled.

"Okay, big kids, your turn!" Flack's mom called from the kitchen before Flack or Ria had a chance to respond to Anna.


	7. Going Through Hell

A/N: _I am really enjoying this no class thing. I need to thank whoever thought of having a conference for my entire faculty this week. It's great! Nothing to study for, no presentations to prepare. I even go to sleep in this morning! Thanks for the reviews guys, here is another chapter!_

Chapter Seven

_"The love for a horse is just as complicated as the love for another human being...if you never love a horse, you will never understand."  
Author Unknown_

"Holy crap its cold." Danny mumbled under his breath. "Look! I can even _see_ my breath!"

"You are such a drama queen." Ria chuckled as she came up behind him. "It's not that cold. It's barely below freezing."

"You're from up north…don't you have snow there year round?" Flack piped up as he walked up beside Ria. She playfully punched his shoulder.

"We only have a bit more snow than there is here, _and_ its not that much colder." Ria smiled.

"You two seem awfully cozy since he took you home…" Lindsay hinted. It had been two weeks since Ria had met Flack's family. Lindsay and Danny had both noticed that Flack and Ria seemed more comfortable around each other, almost coupley-comfortable. Danny and Lindsay were currently involved in their own little tango, so they hadn't had much time to snoop into what was going on between Flack and Ria.

"Is there something that you two would like to tell us?" Danny asked winking.

"Is there something that _you_ two would like to tell _us_?" Ria asked raising her eyebrows.

"You can't respond to a question with a question." Danny replied teasingly, trying to cover up the fact that Ria was getting close to discovering what was going on.

"Fine, then I'll just point out that _someone_ has been walking around with a bit more of a 'glow' lately." She said casually. "You wouldn't have anything to do with that, would you Danny?" Lindsay blushed at Ria's insinuation. It was 100 true, but people weren't supposed to find out just yet.

"Holy shit, that's what it is!!" Flack exclaimed. He dropped his voice and leant in closer to Danny. "Are you and Monroe…y'know?"

Danny just smirked a little. That was good enough for Flack, he stood back up satisfied that he finally had the truth.

"Is it really that obvious?" Lindsay whispered as her and Ria crouched down near the body.

"It's only because I know you, and Danny gave it away more than you did. So you can blame it on him." Ria giggled. "I'm happy for you guys. Is it too early to start lobbying for a baby?"

"Jesus Ria!" Lindsay elbowed her. "We only just started seeing each other!"

"I just needed to make sure you hadn't been sneaking for awhile. And I'm satisfied by your reaction." She smiled as she got to work.

The team shifted into work mode, and spoke only to exchange information on their findings. Suddenly, Ria gasped and looked up at Flack. "I can't believe I didn't ask earlier Don! Did Anna have her baby?" she looked truly mortified that she had forgotten.

Flack smiled. "She did. She had him last Sunday. 10 lbs, 11oz."

Both Lindsay and Ria cringed. "What's his name?"

"Edward Donald Reese."

"Tell her I said congratulations?" Ria smiled.

"Sure thing."

"Did you just call him Don?" Danny asked with a goofy smile plastered on his face. Ria just shot him a look. "You just called him Don! Are you sure you guy aren't…" he waved a hand back and forth between them.

"We're not Danny." Ria told him. Danny looked at her like he didn't believe her in the least bit. "I swear!"

Danny looked to Flack. He just held up his hands and took a step back. "She's right man."

Danny just shook his head, while Lindsay smiled to herself. Flack's phone started to ring; he excused himself to answer it. "Monroe!" he called as he snapped his phone shut, and motioned for her to go over to him. She furrowed her brow, but went over to him. Ria and Danny watched as they talked in hushed tones. Lindsay's face went from confusion to shock as she brought her hand up to her mouth and glanced quickly at Ria and Danny. Ria and Danny exchanged a look and stood up. Flack and Lindsay seemed to be arguing about something. Finally Lindsay agreed. Flack took on last look at Ria and walked in the direction of his car. Lindsay took a deep breath and walk over to Ria and Danny.

"What's going on?" Danny asked as he glanced behind Lindsay to see Flack get in his car and start it.

Lindsay looked to Ria. "Flack got a phone call from Mac." She paused, like she was unsure about was she was going to say. Ria could see she was visibly upset.

"Ria, a horse was hit by a car in Brooklyn, near Prospect Park." Lindsay told her sombrely. She watched as the colour drained from Ria's face. "He didn't have much information; they didn't even tell him what colour the horse was."

Danny looked at Ria. She looked like she was in shock. Her face was pale, her breathing was speeding up. She looked like was going to collapse right then and there. "Ria?" he asked.

Ria looked around, stunned. "I gotta go…I've got…Oh my God, what if it's her Lindsay?" she asked before the tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"Don's going to take you." Lindsay told her. The use of his first name wasn't lost on Danny. At this moment, Flack wasn't the Detective on the case; this wasn't a work related call, although it probably started out as such. It was completely personal now. "Danny and I are going to finish this scene."

Ria just nodded. Lindsay stepped out of the way, and gently pushed her in the direction on Flack's car. Flack saw her walking towards the car, and flicked on the flashing lights. Ria slowly made her way to the passenger side and climbed in. Danny watched as Flack said something to her, but she acted like she didn't hear, she just stared out the window as her body shook from her crying. He saw Flack reach over and pull the seatbelt across her to fasten it. He looked at her once more before putting the car into gear. The car sped off, sirens blaring with Flack expertly manoeuvring the car through the New York City traffic.

Lindsay and Danny watched the car until it was out of sight. "Are you ok?" Danny asked Lindsay putting a hand on her back.

She nodded. "God, I hope it's not Allie. It would kill her." Lindsay told him. "That horse is everything to her Danny."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This was easily the worst situation Flack had ever been in. He had dealt with grieving parents, angry lovers, innocent kids, but seeing Ria sobbing in the seat next to him was pure torture. He had no idea what to say. He didn't quite understand her bond with the horse. He never had pets as a kid, so how could he know? This was obviously tearing her apart. He drove as fast as he could. He wanted to provide Ria with some relief and quickly as possibly. Actually, he wanted to provide them both with some relief.

They had just gotten across the Brooklyn Bridge when we spoke. "Pull over." She said quickly.

"What?" he asked confused.

"I think I'm going to be sick, can you pull over?" she asked quietly between sobs.

The moment Flack pulled over, Ria was out of the car, retching in the ditch. He got out, and rushed to her side. He rubbed her back as she continued to gag. "Sorry." She said as her breath hitched.

"Hey, you don't need to apologize." Flack said soothingly, not taking his hand off her back.

"Don, I don't know what I'm going to do if it's her…I don't think I could stay here." She cried. Flack pulled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. He let her cry against him for a couple of minutes before speaking.

"Do you want me to call ahead and see if they know…"

Ria cut him off shaking her head against his chest. "No, I don't know what I'd do if it's her."

Flack kissed the top of her head. He surprised himself when he did it. She didn't respond; she had bigger things to worry about right now. "You ready to go?" he asked softly.

"Okay." She whispered. He helped her get back into the car. He made his way back to the driver's side. He hoped to God it wasn't her horse. Lindsay was right; she was going to lose it.

They were only 10 minutes from the scene of the accident. Well, 5 minutes with the lights and sirens. About two blocks from the stables, Ria spoke. "Can you turn off the lights and siren?" Flack looked at her with raised eyebrows. "If the horse if alive, it'll be scared by them." She explained before new tears flowed. Flack did as she asked.

He could see Ria sitting up straight trying to see if she could catch a glimpse of the horse. Flack's stomach was in knots; he couldn't imagine was she was feeling right now. He parked the car and they both got out at the same time. Once he moved to the front of the car, he had a perfect view of the accident. It was a scene of chaos, even though every single emergency vehicle had no lights flashing and no sirens wailing. The car was totalled. There was a group of people hovered around in a circle; he assumed they were around the horse. He could see a white leg sticking out between people. Ria's voice interrupted his thoughts as she came up beside him.

"Oh my God. It's not her." She said, breaking out into more fresh tears. Flack felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulder. "Oh Thank God." She surprised him by wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her head in his chest. He responded automatically by wrapping his arms around her and rubbing her back.

"Ria!" he heard a voice call from within the chaos. Ria pulled away from him and looked towards the voice.

"Bill!" she called back. "I thought was Allie." She cried. The man came up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry to put you through that. We were going to call everyone once things were sorted out; I forgot you would probably catch wind of it as it happened." The man gave her a weak smile. "It's Foxy. She spooked coming out of the park, dumped her rider and just ran."

"How is she?" Ria asked trying to peer over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of the horse. But the man just looked at her and shook his head. "Her legs…Ria, maybe you should head into the barn." He looked pointedly at Flack, as if to tell him that Ria needed to get away, fast. "Why don't you go introduce him to Allie…"

"Bill, what are you going to do?" Ria pressed, her eyes searching his for an answer. Flack urgently pulled her towards the barn. "You're not going to…" she was interrupted by the sound of a single gunshot. She covered her mouth with her hand to stifle her scream.

Bill looked at Flack apologetically before turning back to where the horse was lying. For the third time in an hour, Flack found himself holding a sobbing Ria. This time, she was trying to talk. "They just shot her." She stated. Flack wasn't sure if she was angry, or upset, or a combination of both. "Right on the road…just like that." Flack could barely understand what she was saying. Her voice was muffled by clothing.

"Ria, she was suffering." He tried to reason with her. "They had to."

Ria just sniffled and hiccupped. Flack knew she was a rational person, and that she knew it was the right thing to do, but in the heat of the moment, she was allowed to doubt it. He decided to go for broke, and bent down to kiss her head again. She looked up and smiled shyly. He grinned back, causing her to blush. _'She felt it that time…'_ he said to himself.

"Do you, um, do you want to meet Allie?" she asked as she pulled away from him, as if she had only just realized how close together they had been.

Flack smiled reassuringly. "I'd love to."

Ria led the way to the barn. Flack noticed that she completely ignored the scene as she walked by it. Ria pulled off her mittens once she got into the barn before she bent down to pet the cat who seemed to be guarding the door. "This is William." She smiled up at Flack will tear stained cheeks. "He's the best guard kitty there ever was."

Flack just regarded the cat suspiciously. "I'm allergic." He provided. As soon as he said it, the cat walked over to him and started rubbing up on his leg.

Ria laughed. "Cats can always tell. Come on, Allie is over here."

Flack stepped over the cat and followed Ria down the barn. She finally stopped in from of a stall and peered in cautiously. It was like she had to make sure the horse inside was still in there, not outside lying on the pavement.

"Hey there big momma." Ria spoke softly as the horse poked her head out of the stall. Flack noticed Ria's smile falter as she pet the horse's head. She quickly opened the stall door and went in. Flack stepped closer and peered into the stall. Ria was standing with her arms around the horse's neck, her head buried between her arm and the horse's neck. By the way her body was shaking; he could tell she was crying. The horse stood quietly as if she knew what Ria had just gone through. Flack timidly reached out to touch the horse's face. He was surprised when the horse extended her neck to meet his hand halfway.

Ria looked up from her place against the horse's neck and smiled. "She likes you." She smiled. "Look at this." She said as she spotted the wet spot her tears had made on the horse's neck. She smoothed over the spot with her hand. "Sorry girl."

Flack continued to pet Allie's face. "Are we going to get formal introductions, or what?"

Ria laughed. "Sorry, where are my manners! Allie, this is Don. Don, this is Allie. Also known as big momma."

"Big momma?" Flack laughed.

"Yes, if you look here." Ria said as she stepped to Allie's side and poked at her belly. "She's never really lost her baby weight."

Flack was about to comment when his phone rang. "Flack." He answered. "No, Allie's fine. Yes I met her. I'm standing right in front of her. Sure. We'll be back in a bit."

"That was Monroe." He said snapping his phone shut. "If you're ok, Mac would like us back on the Greenwich Village case."

Ria nodded. She walked to Allie's head and gave her a kiss on the nose. "See you later, Al."

"Thanks Don." Ria said nervously as the walked out of the barn. "For earlier."

"No problem." He smiled.

"Do you by any chance have any gum?" she asked blushing once they'd gotten into the car. Flack looked at her quizzically. "I still have the taste in my mouth…from earlier."

"Oh, right. Sure, I think there is some in the glove compartment." He smiled at her

"I'm sorry about…" she started.

Flack put his hand on her arm. "You don't have to apologize for anything Ria. You went through hell back there. I'm glad I could help."

Ria popped a piece of gum in her mouth and chewed a few times. She leaned up and kissed Flack on the cheek. "I'm glad you were there to help." She smiled, and then blushed again when he grinned back.


	8. Interrogation

Chapter Eight

_I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it._

_-__Garrison Keillor_

"Ready to go home?" Lindsay asked Ria as they walked up to the interrogation room.

"I am proud to say that I am all packed, Christmas presents have all been wrapped, and I've even arranged a babysitter for Sammy and Allie." Ria smiled proudly.

Lindsay raised her eyebrows. "I could have looked after Allie for you…"

Ria just waived her hand at her. "Nah, I know you'll be busy with Danny and work. One of the girls is going to brush her for me and give her the Christmas carrots. My neighbour took custody of Sammy this morning. So I am ready to leave tomorrow morning!"

"I have your scumbag." Flack stated as the girls walked up to interrogation room. "Meet Charlie Price." He motioned for the girls to look through the glass.

"Wow, he sure is a looker." Lindsay murmured. The man in question was obviously not happy with his current situation. He was missing a few teeth, his face and hands were covered in dirt. He had one of those really scary faces that you would not want to encounter after dark.

"Oh, and word of caution….he smells." Danny piped up.

"Ok, well then, let's go." Lindsay smiled at Ria. They were about to open the door when both Danny and Flack stopped them.

"One of us has to go in there with you." Flack said seriously.

"I thought you called us down here because he wasn't talking to you two?" Ria asked. Knowing full well they just didn't trust the guy. "There is a uniform in there, we got it."

Lindsay and Ria opened the door and stepped into the room. Danny was right, he did smell. Really bad. Like garbage and decomp all rolled into on nasty, pungent stench.

"Ya, this is more like it." Charlie sneered as the girls walked in. "You ladies wanna rough me up a little but before we start?"

Ria smiled sweetly. "You mind telling us why we found your prints at the crime scene, and the victim's blood all over your jacket, Mr. Price?"

"I tell you what babe, why don't you and me have a little one on one time? Then I'll tell you all you need to know."

"I'm afraid I can't do that Mr. Price." Ria smiled as she sat on the corner of the table. "Detective Monroe and I come as a package deal."

The suspect glanced between the two women then smiled. "She must be the protector in your relationship then, eh? That why she carries the gun, and you don't?" he smiled as he moved his hand to lift Ria's jacket to reveal emptiness where a gun would have been.

Everyone in the room jumped when someone knocked on the glass. "Sit tight Mr. Price." Ria told him as she got off the table and went to the door.

"Anything for you hotstuff, but please, call me Charlie." He winked.

Ria was livid when her and Lindsay stepped out of the interrogation room. "This better be good." She said looking at Flack and Danny.

"Ya, you aren't going back in." Flack said pointedly.

"I've got him talking." Ria reasoned. Flack could practically see the steam coming out of her ears, but he didn't care. "You guys didn't have him talking."

"Ria, he's all over you. You just let him _touch_ you." Flack said angrily.

"He touched my jacket Flack." She replied. Lindsay and Danny took a step back from the argument. They both knew that since Flack met Allie, Ria and him had been 'seeing each other'. She called him Don, and never Flack. Since she'd reverted back to calling him Flack, they assumed she was ready for a fight.

"Whatever." He said waiving his hand. "I don't want you back in there with that scum bag. He recognized that you don't carry a gun, and he's going to have less respect for you because of it."

"Well, you can't always get what you want. What's more important, nailing a killer or preventing him from touching my jacket?" she asked defensively. She looked back to Lindsay. "Ready to go back in?"

Lindsay nodded. She was on Ria's side in this whole thing. Ya, the guy was a creep, but this was part of the job. Charlie smiled as they walked back in.

"Glad to see you back. I thought maybe your boyfriend had pulled you away." He smirked at Ria, completely ignoring Lindsay.

"Mr. Price." Ria started. "An explanation for your prints at the scene? The blood on your clothes?"

"Charlie." He returned smiling.

"Mr. Price." Ria said as she stood beside him with her arms crossed in from of her chest. This really pissed the guy off. Lindsay saw something flash in his eyes as Ria stood her ground.

He remained silent for a few minutes. Ria was unwavering. She stood there, pressing, like she had all the time in the world. Charlie was starting to get impatient with her looking over him

"Alright!" he screamed, slamming his fists on the table. "I killed her, ok?! Is that what you want to hear?!"

Flack and Danny exchanged a surprised look. Ria made him crack.

Ria's expression didn't change. She pushed the pad of paper and pen towards him. "Write it down." She instructed.

Charlie had started to write. He was getting progressively more agitated. Ria noticed his agitation. "Something bothering you Mr. Price?" she asked.

That was all it took. Charlie snapped. He dropped the pen and lunged out of his chair towards Ria. He pinned her on the ground, his body on top of her. "I told you to call me Charlie." He hissed in her ear before kissing her cheek roughly. Before she had a chance to respond, Flack was in the room yanking Charlie off of her. She saw him slam Charlie up against the wall before Danny intervened, cuffed Charlie and handed him off to the uniform.

"Ria…Ria?" Lindsay said as she knelt down beside Ria.

"Gimme a sec." Ria gasped as she struggled for air.

"Just try and relax, you got the wind knocked out of you." Lindsay said worriedly. "We called for help."

"No, I'm fine." Ria said trying to sit up. She winced in pain as she did so.

"You're not fine." Flack said flatly as he stood above her. Ria noted he was extremely intimidating from this angle. "I'll go meet the ambulance out front." He murmured before heading out the door.

Ria refused all medical attention. The EMTs though she might have a cracked rib or two, and possibly a concussion. Ria agreed, but told them that the hospital would do nothing but confirm her injuries.

Flack was livid. He stuck around long enough for Ria to refuse medical care and to hear Lindsay tell Mac that she would have Ria at her place for the night to make sure she was ok. Before he left, he dropped of her Christmas present in locker. He just could not be around it any longer.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So when are you going to stop moping around?" Anna asked cheerily as she sat beside Flack on the couch. Flack just shot her a look and took another swig of his beer. "Junior, you've gotta stop doing this to yourself."

"Anna, you didn't see her face." Flack said rubbing his face. "Not only did she look scared, but surprised. Like she couldn't believe that someone could do that to her. I should've been in there. Or, at least gotten there faster."

"Junior, Dad said he'd never seen someone get into an interrogation room and slam someone up against a wall so fast." Anna smiled. "Maybe you'd feel better if you called her."

"She's at home. I don't want to bother her…" he started.

"Don't give me that crap." Anna shoved him. "You're a Detective; you have ways to find her number at home. And you won't be bothering her, Junior."

"It's Christmas Eve Anna." Flack tried to reason.

"Right, and don't boyfriends call their girlfriends on holidays?" she asked smiling mischievously.

"We aren't…"

"Time to face reality Junior. You are. Look at you! You're all bent out of shape because you couldn't be her protector." Anna said handing him the phone. "Just call her." She said handing him a post it note with a number on it.

Flack looked at her suspiciously. "How did you get this number?" he asked.

"I have my ways little brother." She smiled.

Anna got up and left the room. Flack just stared at the phone for a few minutes. What was he going to say? I mean, he had just left her, hadn't even said goodbye, or Merry Christmas. She was probably pissed, and she'd have every right to be. He didn't realize that he'd started dialling the numbers until the phone started ringing.

"_Hello?" A female voice answered._

"Uh, hi, could I please speak to Ria?" Flack asked nervously. Not completely sure how he had gotten to this point.

"_May I ask whose speaking?"_

"It's Don Flack, ma'am." He replied.

"_Ah yes, the detective in New York. Just hold on a moment, dear." Flack could practically hear the smile in the woman's voice. "I'm sorry dear; she's outside playing hockey with the boys. Just give me a minute, I'll send one of the kids out to get her."_

"Oh no, that's alright, I don't want to be a bother." Flack said quickly.

"_Nonsense dear." The woman chuckled. "It's about time everyone came in to get ready for Christmas Mass anyways. Just hold on."_

"Sure thing." Flack smiled, feeling a little more at ease.

"_Jack! Can you put your clothes on, go outside, and tell everyone to come in and get ready. Best make sure you tell everyone that Nana said its time to come in." The woman said brightly. She waited a few moments before addressing Flack again. "Just give her a few minutes."_

"Thank you ma'am." Flack replied.

"_How are things in New York dear?" she asked brightly._

Flack chuckled nervously. "Things are good. We got a big dump of snow last night; Ria will be pleased when she gets back. How is she doing?"

"_She's fine. I have to say, it's been over 15 years since I've had one of my kids sneak into my room in the middle of the night because they had a bad dream." She told him earnestly._

Flack sighed. "She's having nightmares?"

"_Only the first night." The woman reassured. "And it was nothing like the phone calls I was getting in the middle of the night after that horse from the barn got hit by the car."_

"She's doing ok now? Her ribs don't bother her?" he asked.

_The woman chuckled. "Well, she'd been out playing hockey for two days straight. She seems to be holding her own against the boys. Her brothers have been really putting it to her; she seems like her normal self. How about you? She was worried about you."_

"Worried about me?" Flack asked surprised.

"_She said you were pretty upset. You left before she had a chance to talk to you." The woman reasoned._

"I didn't know what to do." Flack admitted. "It happened so fast, one minute things were going well, the next he's got her on the ground, and I couldn't do anything."

"_But you did. You got in there before he could do any real damage, and she's fine." The woman said softly. "Oh! Here they are, just a minute."_

Flack smiled as he listened to what was going on on the other side of the phone.

"_Ok, its time to get ready for church." This comment was followed by a series of groans. "I don't want to hear it! Parents, round up your children, give them the smell test, and if they need showering, then they shower with you. There are 3 showers in this house, so let's make it fast. Ria, you have a phone call." Flack heard Ria ask who was on the phone. "It's your boyfriend." The woman responded. Flack laughed as he heard Ria protest "Mother!"_

"_Hello?"_ _she said into the phone as a series of oos and ahhs came up in the background._

"Hey, how you doin'?" he asked quietly.

"_I'm fine…were you just chatting with my mother?" she asked sounding horrified at the thought._

"I guess so." He chuckled, glad that she wasn't biting his head off.

"_What did she tell you?" she pressed._

"Aha, that's between her and I." He teased.

"_Don, that's not funny." She told him._

"Well, at least you're using my first name again." He smiled into the phone. "Look, I don't want to keep you, I just wanted to wish you a Merry Christmas."

"_Thanks." She said shyly. "You too, huh? Did you get my present?"_

"I did. Haven't opened it yet. The kids won't let me."

"_Good! I haven't opened yours either." He heard the smile in her voice. He could hear her mother talking in the background. _

"Look, I'm going to let you go. Sounds like you have a lot to do." Flack said. "I'll call you tomorrow?"

"_No, I'll call you. My turn for the long distance charges." She laughed. "I hope Santa is good to you."_

"Goodnight, Ria." He smiled into the phone.

"_G'night Don." She replied, and then hung up._


	9. Surprise!

A/N:_ Thanks for the reviews everyone! I actually have class today and tomorrow, so I may not have another update until the weekend. Hopefully you're enjoying it!_

Chapter Nine

_The first half of our lives is ruined by our parents, and the second half by our children._

_-__Clarence Darrow_

"I'm really sorry about this." Lindsay said as she met Ria in the airport. "It's just been so busy; we are all running around like crazy in the lab."

"It's ok; crime doesn't stop for vacation, right?" Ria smiled as she pulled her bag off the luggage carousel.

"I know, but you were probably thinking you'd get called back as a CSI, not a lab tech." Lindsay smiled sympathetically.

"It's ok. It'll be nice to be back in the lab actually. Nice way to ease back into work."

"Ria, you were only gone for four days." Lindsay laughed. "You seem extremely ok with the fact that it's Boxing Day, and you are already back at work when you weren't supposed to be back for another 3 days."

"Family has a way of making coming back to work seem like a great thing." Ria smiled as they stepped out of the airport to catch a cab.

"We'll head straight to the lab, is that ok? On the way, you can tell me what happened at home." Lindsay eyes danced.

"My mother talked to Don…on the phone, unsupervised, for at least 2 minutes." Ria sighed as she put her bag into the trunk of the cab.

Lindsay gasped. "Really?!"

"Ya. It's horrible. Now _everyone_ in my family knows about him. And who knows what she told him. I'm horrified at the thought. She's got oodles of embarrassing things she could tell him. And she wouldn't even think they are embarrassing stories." Ria started rambling.

"Relax Ria." Lindsay said calmly. "He was _very_ excited that you're coming back early. So whatever she told him didn't scare him off."

Ria just shot her a look. She was clearly not amused with the situation.

Mac put Ria to work the moment she stepped into the lab. The holidays seemed to increase to amount of suspicious deaths in the city. They were getting calls left, right, and center. The morgue was backed up, and lab techs were running around like crazy running tox screens, analyzing DNA, and all that good stuff.

The CSIs barely had time to drop off any evidence before having to go out to another scene. To Ria, it was fabulous. She _loved_ the lab. And working in a chaotic, fast-paced lab was even better. There was always something to do and results coming in. She was running samples from the morgue to the lab, and then calling them into the CSIs on the case.

After 48 hours, things seemed to calm down. Once Mac was satisfied that things had returned to normal, his team was allowed to go home. Ria was exhausted, but it was a good kind of exhausted. Like she'd accomplished something.

"I cannot wait to crawl into bed." Lindsay said sleepily as she waited at the elevator with Ria and Danny.

"I know the feeling." Danny said sleepily beside her.

"So, no nooky for you two tonight, huh?" Ria teased brightly. Lindsay and Danny just stared at her in disbelief.

"How can you be so perky after working 48 straight hours?" Danny asked shaking his head.

Ria just shrugged her shoulders. "I've got a decent walk and train ride ahead of me. Gotta make sure I stay awake." She smiled.

"It is at times like this that I am reminded that you are still in your twenties, and I am in my thirties." Lindsay smiled as she rested her head on Danny's shoulder.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Ria looked up to see Flack standing in the elevator looking extremely tired. His tie was loosened with the top two buttons on his shirt undone. He was leaning against the back of the elevator. He looked up when the doors opened and smiled at Ria. _'Holy shit he looks hot.'_ Ria thought to herself, and immediately blushed.

"You headed home?" he asked her as she walked into the elevator.

"I am, you?" she asked.

He looked down at his feet for a second, as if he was gathering his courage. "I came to see you."

"Oh really?" she asked raising her eyebrows. Inside, she was jumping for joy. She could see Danny trying to hide his snicker by ducking his head in Lindsay's shoulder.

"I haven't seen you since you left. Work has been crazy, I tried to stop by, but every time I was here, you weren't." He smiled sheepishly. "So I thought maybe I could catch you before you leave."

The elevator reached the ground floor and they stepped out. Lindsay and Danny turned to talk to Ria and Flack just before they headed out the door.

"We'll see you guys in the morning." Lindsay smiled.

"Flack, man, just suck it up and tell her your place is closer, you'll sleep on the couch. When she resists, just give her your best smile and tell her you'd feel better knowing she didn't have to walk alone in the dark." Danny winked before quickly turning around and going out the door.

Ria looked at Flack, who had turned a deep shade of red, and smiled. "Was that your plan?" she asked.

Flack nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Ya. It was." He smiled a bit.

"Well, it's very thoughtful of you. But I don't want to impose. I haven't showered in days, and…" Ria started.

"It's ok." Flack said quickly. "I mean, you can shower at my place. You've got your clothes from the trip; it's no problem…really. My place is a 5 minute cab ride."

Ria though about it for a second. "Ok. But I'll take the couch."

Flack smiled. "We can discuss that when we get there." He took her bag from her and stepped out the door the hail a cab.

Ten minutes later, Ria and Flack were battling it out for the couch in his apartment.

"Look, you're the guest, you take the bed." Flack told her as he directed her towards the bedroom.

"I'm the guest; I'll take the couch, Don." Ria protested.

"You've been on your feet for over 48 hours, you should take the bed." Flack reasoned. "I've only been on mine for 24."

Ria sighed. "Fine." She said. There was no use fighting with him. She was too tired to drag it on. She'd get him next time.

Flack smiled. "Good. I will see you in the morning then."

"Have a good night." She said before she turned to walk to the bedroom.

"Ria?" he called after her. She turned around to find Flack standing right in front of her.

"I just wanted to say goodnight properly." He said before he leaned down and kissed her lips lightly. Ria blushed as he pulled away. "G'night." He said smiling.

An hour later, Ria could still hear Flack tossing and turning on the couch. It creaked every time he moved. She couldn't take it anymore. He wasn't going to get any sleep. She threw off her covers and padded in to the living room. Flack must have heard her coming, because he stopped moving around.

"Don?" she asked.

"Ya?" he answered slowly.

"This is stupid." She huffed. "You're not going to get any sleep out here. Look, we can share the bed, it's big enough."

Flack sat up on the couch. Even though it was dark, she could tell that he had a pleasantly surprised look on his face. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, come on." She said before starting back to the room.

She crawled back into bed. Flack was right behind her, crawling in on the other side. Once they had both settled, Ria turned onto her side facing Flack. "What time do you have to be at work?"

"Same as you." He replied. "I figured I could just drop you at the lab before heading to the precinct."

Ria smiled. "Sounds good to me. G'night."

"G'night."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So…how was your night?" Lindsay asked as she walked in the lab where Ria was looking into a microscope.

"It was nice to be able to sleep." She said, not taking her focus off what she was doing.

"Flack have a nice bed?" Lindsay teased.

Ria looked up and her and smiled. "He does. Fits two people rather easily."

Lindsay gasped. "You slept with him?!" she said in a hushed tone that was laced with excitement.

"Uh, not in the way you're thinking." Ria laughed. "His couch creaks, and he kept tossing and turning, so I told him to get in the bed."

Lindsay giggled. "You two are _so_ cute. It's like you're my little sister, and I just can't help it!"

"Ria!" Stella called from the hallway. "You have some visitors." She said motioning towards the reception area.

Ria furrowed her brow as she pulled off her gloves. She took a step forward to peer around one of the machines, trying to catch a glimpse of who her visitors were. "You have _got_ to be shitting me." She said seriously.

"What?!" Lindsay asked as she hurried to her side. "Who are the people talking to Danny and Flack?"

Ria just looked at her.

"Oh my God." Lindsay said seriously. "Are those your parents?!"

Ria just nodded as she began to take off her lab coat. Lindsay just burst out laughing. "I'm sorry Ria, but the look on your face. You look like you could kill somebody!"

Lindsay was right behind Ria as she left the room to walk towards reception.

"There she is!" Danny smiled as he spotted Ria walking down the hall towards them. "You're parents came for a visit!"

"So I see." Ria said as she looked between Flack and her parents, who looked like they'd just been interrupted from an entertaining conversation. "What are you guys doing here?" Ria asked, perching her hands on her hips.

"We thought we'd surprise you!" her mother responded excitedly. "Isn't this city amazing? The buildings are fabulous."

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Ria pressed. "Mom, my apartment isn't that big. I haven't gone grocery shopping since I've been back…"

"Oh, don't worry about that Peanut." Her father piped up. "We are staying at a hotel. Part of the package we bought online." He said proudly.

"Besides, we didn't want to impose on you, just in case." Her mother said seriously.

"In case what?" Ria asked, getting more and more irritated as the conversation progressed.

"You know." He mother said, leaning in closer. "In case you wanted to have company over." She motioned in Flack's direction.

"Mother!!" Ria exclaimed.

"Oh Ria please. I'm your mother. I know what kids do these days. As long as you're safe…" she smiled sweetly looking between Flack and Ria.

"Jesus Christ Mother, now is _not_ the time." Ria hissed.

"Rianna Jean Donlan! Watch your language!" Her mother scolded her. "Where are your manners?"

Ria turned to Lindsay and Danny who were both trying to fight the urge to laugh. Flack also looked like he was enjoying himself.

"I've met Danny, and of course Don." Her mother said as she patted Flack's arm.

"This is Lindsay Monroe. Lindsay, my mother, Eleanor, and my father, Frank." Ria said quickly. "Look Mom, I'm working right now."

"Oh don't worry sweetheart, we already checked into our hotel, and we are going to do some sightseeing. We were hoping that we could take you and Don out for dinner." Her mother smiled. "Actually, Danny and Lindsay, you should join us as well."

"We'd love to." Lindsay smiled. "How long are you in town for?"

"Well, we are going to spend New Year's here. Don said that his apartment has a great view of the ball dropping in Times Square, so he's invited us there." Ria's mother gushed.

Ria shot Flack a look. He just smiled back at her. _'Fine, he wants to play dirty.'_ "Why don't we make it a party then? Wouldn't your parents like to join us Don?" Ria asked sweetly. As she expected, her mother jumped on this opportunity.

"Oh, that's a fantastic idea!" her mother exclaimed. "We'll talk about it over dinner. You better get back to work. We will meet you downstairs around 7, then we can all head out?"

"Sounds great Eleanor." Flack smiled.

Ria's mother smiled, and gave him a kiss on the cheek before turning to Ria. "We will see you later. And Rianna, an attitude adjustment, _please._"

"See you later Peanut." He dad smiled and kissed her cheek. "Just let her be." He smiled referring to her mother as he hugged her.

"See you later Daddy." Ria said. Once her parents were in the elevator and the doors closed, she turned to Flack and Danny.

"You two!" she seethed. "You did this!"

"Hey man, I did _nothing_. It was all him." Flack said pointing in Danny's direction.

Danny just laughed. "Yes, I'll admit to it. It was all me. Your parents are sweet. And your mom is right. You need an attitude adjustment, _Rianna._"

"_Don't_ call me that." Ria said pointing a finger at him. "Only my mother calls me that."

"Would you prefer Peanut? Because you do actually look like a Peanut."Danny chuckled.

Ria was too angry to even speak. She just turned on her heel and walked away. She heard Flack calling after her. "I'll meet you here at 7!" She heard him chuckling with Danny as she walked away.


	10. Madison Square Gardens

A/N: _I can't believe I'm actually finding the time to sit down and write. I blame is on the crappy weather outside and the fact that school is so incredibly boring. I shouldn't complain; I'm enjoying myself  Thanks again for all your reviews guys!_

Chapter Ten

_"Your horse's behavior always seems to depend on the number of people watching you."  
Author Unknown_

"Your mother still raving about Flack?" Danny asked Ria as she walked into the lab on Monday morning.

"Don't even get me started." Ria huffed. "She's in love with him. I thought for sure it would die down after she'd been home for a week or so, but no. Here we are, three weeks later and she's _still_ going on about how polite he is, how thoughtful he is, and that he's such a handsome young man." Ria said sarcastically.

Danny just chuckled. "Come on, it's funny. Flack's got an 'in' with your mom!"

"It's not funny Danny. My mother is obsessed with him. It's unhealthy." Ria said as she slipped on her lab coat.

"What are you doing?" Danny asked her suspiciously.

Ria gave him a funny look. "I'm putting on my lab coat. Is that okay with you?"

"Uh, well, Mac is going to be handing out assignments in his office." Danny said glancing at his watch. "You won't get much done in five minutes."

"I'm a lab tech today." Ria said simply.

"What? Why?" Danny asked looking at her like she was growing a second head.

"Because I asked." She shrugged.

"Did you and Flack have a fight? Are you avoiding him or something?"

"Look, I'm only telling you this because I know you won't stop bothering me until you get an answer. But you can't tell anyone, ok?" Ria said as she looked around for eavesdroppers.

Danny nodded eagerly and leaned in closer, obviously anticipating that a big secret was about to be revealed. _'Maybe her and Flack broke up…no, he would have said something. Hmmmm, oh! No. She couldn't be pregnant…could she? He didn't say anything about sleeping together. They are just 'dating', whatever that means…' _Danny's mind was running a mile a minute.

"I took the rest of the week off…so Mac didn't want me starting on a case that I wouldn't be able to finish." She said quietly.

Danny's face fell. "That's it?!" he exclaimed, completely disappointed.

Ria put her hands on her hips. "What did you think I was going to say?" she asked.

"Well, I don't know…but I though it would be better than that. Who cares that you're taking a week off?!" he asked.

"I just don't want to have to tell people what I'm doing and all that stuff." She waved her hand dismissively.

A smile slowly crept across Danny's face. _'That could only mean one thing…'_ "Lindsay doesn't know, does she?"

By the look on Ria's face, he knew he was right. "Are you goin' off with Flack or something?" he smirked.

"No. Danny, just don't tell anyone ok?" she practically begged.

Danny's eyes popped out of his head. "Flack doesn't know either?!"

"No he doesn't." Ria said defiantly. "He doesn't need to know. It's not like he's my boyfriend and I need to tell him everything."

Danny scoffed. "I have never seen two people more in denial about their relationship in my entire life." He said before he started towards Mac's office.

"Don't tell anyone Danny!" Ria called after him. She knew that he was gonna blurt it out to everyone he ran into. Ria grumbled to herself. _'I should've just said I felt like it.'_ Maybe he would actually listen and keep it to himself. Ria laughed, a little wishful thinking never hurt anyone.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Hey Ria." Lindsay said casually as she walked into Ria's lab later that morning. "How's it goin'?"

"Fine, thanks. And you? How was your hot date over the weekend?" Ria smiled as she continued to look into her microscope.

"It was amazing!" Lindsay gushed. "Danny took me to the Rainbow Room. You'd be surprised to know that he's a very good dancer. Although he'd kill me for telling you…speaking of things that aren't supposed to be shared…" Lindsay said slowly.

'_Here it comes…'_ Ria said as she looked up from her microscope.

"A little birdie told me that you took the rest of the week off?" Lindsay asked with smile.

"I do." Ria smiled sweetly.

"Are you going home?" she asked trying not to make it seem like she was pressing for details.

"Nope." Ria said as she wrote something down in the file she was working on.

Lindsay was starting to get irritated with Ria's lack of information sharing, so she just went for it. "Well, what are you doing then? And before you answer, remember that we _are_ friends, and it's your duty to be open and truthful."

Ria chuckled. "Oh really? My duty?"

"That's right." Lindsay said with a serious face and her arms crossed over the chest.

"I have plans." Ria said simply. "That cannot be broken. Trust me, if I could, I would, but I can't."

Lindsay raised her eyebrows. "What kind of plans are we talking about? Can't be your parents, since they were just here…you don't have any illegitimate children…hmmm…that only leaves…Flack?" Lindsay's face suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree. "Are you and Flack going away together?"

"Why does everyone think that?!" Ria asked tossing her hands in the air. "We aren't even really dating!"

"You are in such denial. If I remember correctly, he kissed you…in his apartment, then you shared his bed." Lindsay pointed out.

"Yes, and that was weeks ago." Ria pointed out. "Look, there's a horseshow at Madison Square Gardens, and I'm showing in it, ok? That's why I took the week off."

Lindsay thought about it for a moment. And then her eyes lit up and she gasped. "That big show? The one with the commercials on TV?" she asked excitedly.

Ria sighed. "Yes. That one. I jokingly made a bet with my friend back home, that if I qualified, I'd go. And I cannot believe I qualified, but I did."

"That's _amazing_ Ria!!" Lindsay clapped her hands together. "When do you show? We'll go and watch! This is so exciting!!"

"No. You're not allowed to come." Ria said firmly.

"Why not?" Lindsay huffed.

"Because I get too nervous, and I can't deal with having people watch." Ria stated.

Lindsay looked at her sceptically, but seemed to settle for Ria's response. "Fine. But you'll let me know how it goes, right?"

Ria smiled. "That I can do. Now, I have to run these over to Adam. I'll see you later?"

"Sure. Good luck if I don't see you before the show." Lindsay smiled as Ria walked away. A plan was already formulating in her head. She went into her office to start her research on the computer. There would undoubtedly be something about Ria showing online…

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"How is it possible that you are _that_ interested in paperwork?" Danny asked Lindsay as they sat in their office. Lindsay was looking at her computer screen with bright eyes and a big smile on her face.

"I'm working on a little side project." She said quickly as she searched for a pad of paper to write on.

"Side project?" he asked getting up from his chair to go peek at what she was looking at with such intent.

"Ria took the week off because she's showing at that big horseshow and MSG." Lindsay explained. "She wouldn't give me any details, giving me some story about being too nervous and blah blah blah."

Danny chuckled. "So you took it upon yourself to do some research, and with this information you are going to show up anyways?"

"Exactly." Lindsay confirmed. "I looked around, and she qualified for the green hunter division with Allie. So, according to the schedule here, she is showing Wednesday morning, Thursday afternoon, and Saturday night."

"Saturday night works for me." Danny stated as he eyed the schedule.

"Me too." Lindsay smiled. "We've gotta check with Flack. See if he's got plans."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Where's Ria?" Flack asked as Lindsay and Danny walked up to the crime scene early Tuesday morning.

"She has the rest of the week off." Danny replied casually, fully knowing Flack would be all over it.

"What?" he asked, looking up from his notebook quickly. "Is she okay?

"She's fine." Lindsay smiled. "She's riding Allie in the horseshow and MSG this week. She needed the time off."

"MSG?" Flack asked. "The horse thing they keep advertising on TV?"

"Yup." Lindsay smiled; glad that Flack seemed aware of the magnitude of what Ria was doing. "She doesn't want anyone to know, says she's too nervous."

"So we're going to go watch her on Saturday night, you up for it?" Danny smiled. Very happy that he was a part of it.

Flack seemed a little hurt that she hadn't told him about it, but quickly reasoned that they were _actually_ dating. "Sure. I'm up for it."

"Great!" Lindsay exclaimed. "I got the tickets. You have to dress formal. Tuxes for the boys, dresses for the girls. Starts at 7:30, we can meet you at MSG around 7?"

"It's a big deal, huh?" He asked.

Lindsay regarded him for a moment. "You know she doesn't really like being the center of attention Flack. This is just her way of dealing with it."

"Ya, I guess." Flack sounded disappointed. _'Maybe you should do something about it man.'_ He told himself.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The rest of the week flew buy. Flack felt like he had a million things to do before going to Ria's show. He had the master plan all worked out. He rented his tux, cleaned his apartment, and picked up Ria's favourite takeout. Tonight was the night. Lindsay had mentioned that after the show, they would go back to the stables to try and find Ria. Flack figured he might be able to convince her to go to his place; it was closer to MSG than her place and he had the next day off.

Flack knew he was pacing outside the main entrance of the building, but he didn't care. He was nervous, who could blame him? It took him all week to plan this, and he wanted it to go just like he'd planned.

"You alright there Flack?" Danny asked as he and Lindsay stepped out of their cab. "You look a little nervous…"

"I'm fine." Flack said, waving his hand in the air. "Just cold."

"You look great Flack. You'll have the ladies eating out of your hand." Lindsay smiled reassuringly.

"You don't look so bad yourself, Monroe." He gestured to her dress. It was a dark green ballroom style dress.

"Hands off man." Danny said jokingly. "You've got your own…or at least you will after tonight, huh?" he winked at Flack.

Lindsay looked between Flack and Danny. Danny was smiling, and Flack was blushing. "Don Flack, do you have something planned for tonight?" she asked accusingly.

"Perhaps." He shrugged. "You'll have to wait and see."

They walked into the building and went to find their seats. Flack looked at the scene around him. Lindsay had gotten them seats quite close to the ring. The hockey rink had been converter in a dirt ring. Flack was surprised to see that there were a lot of people in the seats. It didn't look sold out, but close. Everyone in the lower bowl was in formal wear, and people sitting farther away were dressed casually. He had a great view of the entire ring. There were 8 jumps set up in the ring. Flack had no idea what to expect. Lindsay must have sensed that, because she began to explain.

"Riders have to jump all 8 jumps. There is a course they have to follow. The jumps in this class are 3' high. It is supposed to look beautiful, effortless, and the horse should look like it's a pleasure to ride." Lindsay told Danny and Flack.

"They had to qualify for this?" Danny asked.

"Yes." Lindsay said. "They had to show all summer, finish in the top 30 in the country."

"Wow." Flack said. "That's impressive."

"It is." Lindsay agreed. "The horses in these classes are easily worth $30k."

Danny whistled. "That is crazy."

The lights dimmed down and the crowd settled down. The announcers booming voice resonated through the arena.

_Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to the USEF Championship Horseshow. Our first class this evening is the Green Hunters, followed by Amateur Owner Hunters. Our last class this evening is the ever so entertaining Carriage Derby Racing. Please sit back, and enjoy the show._

Flack settled into his chair. His nerves had settled. The night was underway, and all he could do now was wait. After the first 5 riders had gone through, Flack finally understood the course. To him, all the horses looked the same, riders were dressed the same, and they all rode a hell of a lot better than he ever could. Flack's ears perked up when the next horse was announced.

_Our next horse in the ring is AllieOop, she is owned and ridden by Rianna Donlan._

Flack, Danny and Lindsay all leaned forward to watch Ria intently. Immediately Flack thought that Ria and Allie were the best combination that they'd seen so far. Although he was sure that he was biased. They all clapped when she finished her course and trotted Allie out of the ring. She has a huge smiled on her face, and Flack noticed that there was a woman waiting for her at the out gate.

"So, that was good?" Flack asked Lindsay. "She looked happy."

Lindsay laughed. "She missed a flying change in the far corner, but as long as she's happy with it. She had no big issues."

"We gonna go see her now?" Flack asked.

Danny chuckled. "Easy buddy."

"We might as well. It might take us awhile to find her stabling." Lindsay got up and led the way up the stairs. Flack just followed her, reciting the lines he though up in his head. Flack was hit by the familiar smell of horses once they had gone down a series of stairs.

"Ok, let's see here." Lindsay said as she looked at the map of the stabling area. "She's stabled on the second floor, on the east side. Let's go." She smiled and winked at Flack.

They rounded the corner where Lindsay was sure that Ria was stabled. As soon as Lindsay spotted her, she called her name. "Ria!"

Ria spun around quickly in surprise. "Lindsay?!"

"You were awesome out there Ria!" she said as she gave her a big hug.

"You guys bought tickets?" she asked surprised.

"Of course we did!" Lindsay smiled. "I did a little digging. The boys were only too happy to tag along."

"I was going to change and go watch. My friend, Rose had to go and help her student get ready for the next class." Ria smiled. "You guys want to sit in our box?"

"We could be convinced." Lindsay smiled.

"Ok, I have to go and get changed. Could I enlist your help? I can't zip the dress on my own." Ria asked as she went into her tack stall and pulled our a garment bag.

"Flack'll help." Lindsay winked.

Ria glanced at Flack quickly. "Ok, this way."

Flack nodded wordlessly and followed her towards the bathroom. She opened the door to the handicap bathroom and ushered him in.

"You hold the dress like this…" Ria motioned to Flack to hold it off the ground. "And you need to close your eyes."

Flack raised his eyebrows. "Close my eyes?"

"I have to take off the clothes I'm wearing before I can step into the dress." She pointed out. Flack nodded and closed his eyes. He heard the sound of clothing shuffling, then he felt her put her hands on his shoulders to balance herself and she stepped into the dress.

He took this moment to put his plan into action. "So, uh, tonight, after the show, I thought maybe you could come over. Since it's so much closer than your place…" He felt her stop what she was doing, her hands still on his shoulders.

"I'd love to." He could hear the smile in her voice. He was so surprised that his eyes flew open.

"Don!" she exclaimed as she quickly pulled the dress out of his hands to cover up. "Eyes closed!"

"Sorry!" he said quickly, slamming his eyes shut again.

"It's ok now, I'm decent. Can you zip me please?" she asked, turning around.

Flack zipped up her dress, his fingers grazing to soft skin of her back. She turned around and smiled at him. "Thanks Don." She said before standing on her tip toes and kissing him lightly on the lips. She pulled away briefly, but Flack leaned back in for another kiss. It was soft, but full of desire. Ria shivered when he pulled away.

"You're welcome." He smiled.


	11. Wild Child

A/N: _ I think I'm enjoying this story a little too much. Here is a short update for you guys. I have class all day tomorrow (I hate it!!) so probably won't be able to update until Saturday. Enjoy! And thanks for the reviews!!_

Chapter Eleven

_A friend is someone who will bail you out of jail, but your best friend is the one sitting next to you saying "that was fing awesome"_

_-J-Dub_

"You happy with how it went?" Flack asked Ria as they walked into his apartment.

"I am! I thought for sure Allie was going to flip her lid, buck me off and run around like a psycho." Ria chuckled as she sat down on the couch.

"You looked good." Flack said as he undid his bowtie and sat down beside her.

Ria looked at him and smiled in appreciation. "You mind if I change?" she asked.

"Of course." He said quickly getting up off the couch. "You know where the bathroom is. I'll heat up the food; I got Mr. Chow's takeout earlier."

Ria smiled. "A man after my own heart." She replied sarcastically. "Can you unzip me?"

"My pleasure." He chuckled as he stepped to her and unzipped her dress.

Ria giggled before she walked into the bathroom to change. She emerged minutes later to see Flack in the kitchen in sweats and a white t-shirt heating up their food. "Well, aren't we a romantic couple?" she teased.

He looked up at her and smiled. Ria was also dressed in sweats, although hers were slightly more form fitting, and she sported a sleeveless t-shirt. "So we're a couple then?" he asked smiling.

Ria blushed and looked down at her hands. "Well I thought since what happened before, in the bathroom…"

Flack smiled. "I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page." He replied sheepishly.

Feeling more at ease, Ria jumped up to sit on the counter while she watched Flack prepare their food. "You had this whole thing planned?"

Flack smiled at her sheepishly. "Ya. It took me all week to plan it out."

"I am following your plan, Detective?" she smiled.

"You are." Flack responded stepping away from the food to stand between Ria's knees. He placed his hands on the counter on either side of her and leaned in. "Which is good, because I really didn't have a plan B."

"Mmmm hmmm." She murmured feeling his breath on her face. She tilted her face up to capture his lips in a kiss. His hands found purchase on her sides, just underneath her t-shirt. Ria settled into the kiss moving her hands up to rest them on his chest.

Ria was the one who broke the kiss. "Tomorrow, I promised Rose I'd meet her for lunch. You should tag along. She wants to meet you."

"Oh, so you've been telling your friends about me, huh?" he smiled.

"Only the good things." She smiled. "I think Danny and Lindsay are going to meet us there too."

"Should I consider this out first official outing as couple?" Flack smiled as he kissed her neck.

Ria chuckled. "I supposed it is."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I was beginning to think that you two stayed at home to 'take care of business'." Rose said as Ria and Flack slid into the booth.

"Don, this is my friend Rose. You'll have to excuse her. She has no manners, which is why we try not to let her out in public very often." Ria laughed.

Flack chuckled as he shook Rose's hand. "Nice to meet you." He smiled. He had seen a whole different side of Ria in the past 18 hours. Last night at his apartment, she was relaxed and seemingly carefree. She had a lot more wit than she showed at work. They talked about everything from family, to the status of their relationship. He had assumed she was the type of girl who would like to take things slow, but she shot that idea down last night. What was meant to be a goodnight kiss turned out to be a heavy make out session ending only when they rolled off the couch and landed on the floor. She had warned him about Rose, her off beat sense of humour, and blunt honesty. He was surprised that she was best friends with someone of that description.

"You are just as good looking as she said you were." Rose said giving Flack the up and down. "Although, I believe the word she used was 'yummy'…"

"Hey! We went over this yesterday. None of that." Ria scolded playfully. "I'd like to at least get a piece of him before you scare him off."

Flack raised his eyebrows and looked at Ria. Rose laughed when she noticed his reaction. "Yes, I have corrupted her. She does have this side to her that I seem to bring out. Don't be fooled, she can be a wild child."

"Wild child? Ria?" Danny spoke up as he and Lindsay walked up to the booth.

"No, we will _not_ be hearing any stories from Rose." Ria shot Rose a look. "Danny and Lindsay, this is my best friend Rose. Rose, Danny and Lindsay."

"Nice to meet you Rose." Danny smiled as he sat down. "Now, let's hear a story."

"No!" Ria protested, but Rose ignored her.

"Well, she's a _very_ cheap drunk. I've pulled her off a bar table or two." She smiled at Ria. "If you wait long enough, she _will_ start taking of her clothes."

"No way!" Danny laughed. "Ria?? This Ria??"

Ria groaned. That was only the beginning. Danny had Rose telling stories for the whole meal. Mostly stories of her college days. Flack and Danny had a great time listening to tales of drunken escapades, but were surprised to hear that Ria had been arrested…twice.

"No shit!" Danny's mouth hung open. "You were arrested?!"

"Ok, the first time it was her fault." She said pointing to Rose. "We were in together; we were _allegedly_ jay-walking."

"Ah yes, it was the second time that was far more entertaining." Rose laughed as she began the story. "It was during the winter. It was so cold. I was 8 months pregnant, so getting comfortable enough to fall asleep was a chore. I finally fall asleep, and I swear five minutes later, the phone rings. It's Ria, using her one phone call to ask me to go and bail her out. I am so pissed off at this point; I don't even ask what she's in for. I get there; they take me over to the cell that she's in. Lo and behold, there is little innocent Ria sitting in the jail cell in one of those nifty orange jumpsuits."

Danny and Flack were totally into the story by now. Lindsay glanced at Ria who was casually finishing her meal, like she'd heard the story a million times.

"I go to pay her bail, and I tell you, I almost didn't pay it. She was arrested for _streaking._"

Danny and Flack's mouths dropped open. They slowly turned and stared at Ria, who was continuing to eat her meal.

"That's right. She streaked, buck naked down Yonge Street in Toronto. That's like someone trying to streak down Broadway here in NY." Rose laughed.

"Did you get far?" Danny asked eagerly. Flack was too shocked to talk.

Ria laughed. "I put up a good chase actually."

"No!" Lindsay gasped.

"Oh ya." Rose smiled. "They had to pin her to the ground and everything. She had scrapes all over."

"Holy shit. Ria, I have reached a whole new level of respect for you." Danny smiled. "Flack, you lucky dog, you."

"Ok, in my defence, I was drunk, and it was a dare. I couldn't back down." She reasoned.

"Any chance they'll be a repeat?" Danny asked waggling his eyebrows.

"No." Flack responded flatly before Ria had even opened her mouth.

"Well look at you Papa Bear." Rose teased. "But seriously, that's a very good answer. Ria, I completely approve." She winked.

They laughed and ate for another 30 minutes before Rose had to head back to the show grounds. Flack hung back while Rose and Ria said their goodbyes. Once Rose was in the cab and on her way, Ria walked back over to Flack.

"Never would have pegged you for a streaker." Flack grinned as they started to walk back to his apartment.

"I told you, it was a dare, and I was drunk." She protested. "I regretted in the next day. Road burn is not pleasant." She said crinkling her face.

Flack chuckled. "I guess not. I'm glad she told the story though."

"Why's that?" Ria laughed.

"I have this _great_ mental picture in my head right now." He grinned.

"Don!" she said blushing.

"Hey! I'm your boyfriend, I'm allowed to create mental pictures now." He smiled.


	12. Serial Killer Again

A/N: _It's Friday!! Yay!! No class for 2 days. Hopefully I'll get another update for you guys this weekend. Thanks for the reviews!!_

Chapter Twelve

_The reason grandchildren and grandparents get along so well is that they have a common enemy. Sam Levenson_

"I'm sorry to call you all in on your day off, but we've been asked to consult on a case." Mac said seriously as he sat down at the head of the conference table. "I got a call this morning from the Sheriff in Nurbem."

Upon hearing the town name, both Flack and Ria's heads shot up. Although Lindsay and Danny knew that Ria had grown up in the Ottawa area, they weren't aware of the exact town. Flack looked cautiously at Ria. He knew that she'd grown up in Nurbem, her parents still lived there. He was aware that it was a fairly small town, so odds were that Ria knew the victim.

"Yes, I am well aware that it is your hometown, Ria. This is part of the reason the Sheriff called me. They discovered the bodies just before dawn this morning, similar MO to the serial case we had before Christmas. He is now being dubbed the Boxing Day murderer." Mac explained.

"Who are the victims?" Ria asked quietly, obviously anticipating that she would know them.

"The Sheriff said that they'd just moved from out west. A young couple, Deirdre and Maxwell Scott. They were found by a neighbour who noticed that their front door was swinging wide open." Mac read from the file. "Since you guys dealt with the case here in New York, they'd like you expertise down there. It helps that Ria knows the area and the people. The Sheriff is very low on resources, and just does not have the man power or experience to deal with the situation."

"When do we leave?" Danny asked brightly.

"Pack your kits, go home and pack your bags, then head straight to LaGuardia. There is a charter flight that will be waiting for you. The flight will land at the Nurbem airport, so it's easier for you to bring stocked kits and extra supplies." Mac stated.

"The Nurbem airport?" Ria asked as the others stood up.

"Yes, is there a problem?" Mac asked.

Ria started laughing. "No, its just…I've never actually seen a plane land there."

"You're kidding, right?" Danny asked worriedly.

"I'm sure Joe knows what he's doing." Ria smiled as she got up.

"Joe?" Flack asked.

"He owns the airport." Ria supplied. The others stood silent, staring at her. "Look, I've only ever been there for the pancake breakfasts."

"This is just _great_." Danny mumbled.

Three hours later, they were all stuffed into a small 4 seater airplane and in the air. Flack and Danny were very agitated about their current situation, while Lindsay and Ria sat quietly.

"This is an awfully small plane." Flack said nervously. Ria patted his arm and smiled.

"It's not so bad. The flight is under 2 hours; we'll be there in no time."

True to her word, an hour and forty five minutes later, they were getting ready to land. Ria looked out the window and sighed. This trip could go either way; it could be very good, or very bad.

"It looks cold out there." Danny stated.

"Probably is." Ria smiled. "It's February, lots of snow and very cold. Don't worry, Mom said she'd have extra snow gear for you guys."

"How are we going to land in this?" Flack asked nervously. Ria shrugged and look out the window as the plane's altitude dropped.

Flack and Danny had their eyes closed during the whole landing process. Ria and Lindsay laughed right up until the plane stopped and the pilot emerged from the cockpit.

"There's Joe!" Ria squealed as she saw the large man waddling towards the plane. She quickly opened her bag, pulled out a toque and shoved it on her head. She quickly pulled on her winter jacket before getting up. The mittens were the last thing she added as the plane's door was opened. Flack, Danny and Lindsay all got up to follow Ria.

"Joe!" she cried happily as the plane's door opened. She went down the first few steps and then took a flying leap into the older man's waiting arms

"Well, well. Look was the wind blew in." The old man smiled as he swung Ria around. "How are you Peanut?"

"I'm good Joe, how are you?" she asked as he put her down.

"Oh you know, everything is still working." He laughed. "And who have you brought with you?"

"Joe, this is Lindsay Monroe, Danny Messer, and Don Flack." She introduced them. "Guys, this is my godfather, Joe." She said proudly. Flack had to smile at the look on Ria's face. She looked like a young kid who was incredibly proud to introduce Joe to her friends.

"Saved the best for last didn't you, Peanut?" Joe winked to her as he extended his hand to Flack. "I hear you've been treating her well."

"Yes sir. Wouldn't have it any other way." Flack smiled back.

"Very good to hear." He nodded. "Your father dropped off the truck for you to use. We got a good dump of snow last night, so it'll be just like old times for you." He told her with a twinkle in his eye.

Ria smiled brightly. "Thanks Joe." She turned to pick up some bags. "Follow me children!" she said before dashing off.

"It's like she got 10 years younger stepping off that plane." Danny shook his head.

"She's always been like that." Joe smiled fondly. "She's got an incredible zest for life that one."

They followed Ria over to the truck that had been left for them to use. Danny snickered when he stepped up beside her. "You sure you'll be able to handle this Ria?"

Ria just scoffed. "Me and Bertha go back a loooooong way." She patted the truck fondly.

"It's kinda stuck in the snow, we gonna have to shovel it out?" Flack groaned.

Ria's smiled spread right across her face. "Nah, we'll be fine, right Joe?"

"You kids better buckle up. Peanut's got a lead foot when it comes to this truck." He winked.

Danny and Flack nervously buckled their seatbelts in the backseat. Ria had insisted that Lindsay sit in the front seat. The truck was huge. It was obviously an older model Ford, big 4 wheel drive, crew cab, dual wheels in the back. Danny gulped as Ria started the truck. "Ready?" she asked as she glanced at the boys in the rear view mirror. She didn't wait for them to respond. She put the truck in 4 wheel drive before she put it into drive. She slammed her foot down on the gas pedal causing the truck to rev. Danny and Flack could feel the truck's wheels spinning as the back began to fishtail. Ria eased up on the gas pedal before slamming it down again. The truck lurched forward and busted through the snowdrift that had formed in front of it.

The truck continued to fishtail a little bit as Ria steered it down the driveway towards the road. She paused briefly to check for oncoming traffic, and then slammed on the gas again.

"Crazy woman driver!" Danny muttered from the back seat as the truck fishtailed yet again as Ria turned it onto the road.

"Ah relax Danny. Nothing like winter driving." She smiled.

"How long until we get to your parent's place?" Flack asked, hoping it was just around the corner.

"It's only a couple of roads over." Ria said. "We'll be there in no time."

True to her word, she was turning down the driveway just minutes later. The moment she turned in, Flack noticed a dog at the barn door start barking. Ria parked the truck behind the house. "We're here." She said sweetly.

"Uh, what's up with the dog?" Danny asked nervously looking out the truck window at the dog barking frantically.

"It's ok, he's harmless." Ria said as she swung the truck door open. "Monty!!!" she said happily as she raised her arms above her head, causing the dog to run over to her and jump up. She put him into a headlock and started to rough him up a bit before letting him go. "Come on guys!" she called as she started unloading the truck.

The back door of the house opened and her mother and father stepped out. Her dad was dressed in outdoor winter gear. He approached the truck to help unload. He smiled. "Welcome to Canada everyone." Ria smiled and hugged him quickly before running o her mom and giving her a hug.

Flack watched her dash inside the house the dog hot on he heels.

"Why don't you kids head inside and sit down. I'm sure the drive over gave you a few grey hairs." He smiled brightly. "I'll bring the stuff in for ya."

Eleanor ushered them all inside. He heard Ria call from the basement. "Mom! Where are my boots?!"

"I brought them up here Rianna." She called. Flack, Danny and Lindsay just watched as Ria came dashing up the stairs dressed in what could only be described as a padded jumpsuit. She pulled a pair of boots out of the closet and shoved her feet in the boots.

"I'll be right back." She said quickly before rushing out the door with the dog.

"Is she always like that?" Danny asked laughing.

"She's going out to see the horses." Eleanor explained. "It's the first thing she does when she gets home. Give her 15 minutes and she'll be back to normal. She's a bit of a whirlwind when she first comes home. Sheriff Wilkins called; he'll be over within the hour."

"You kids can set up your stuff in the den. Once Peanut comes back, we'll sort our sleeping arrangements." Frank pointed in the direction of the den.

Ria did return 15 minutes later, she seemed less rushed, and was ready to get down to business. "So this is home base?" she asked her parents.

"Ria, you know that the station is the last place that would have room for all this stuff. The Sheriff will be here soon, he'll fill you in on what's happening." Her father told her.

The doorbell rang, but the door swung open before anyone could answer it. "I heard that the city has finally come to the country." a male voice called form the doorway.

Ria, who had been standing talking with Flack, smiled brightly. "Poppa!" she smiled. "Don, you have to meet my Poppa." She pulled him towards to doorway. At the doorway was an older couple, that Flack assumed to be Ria's grandparents.

"Does this mean we are staying with you?" Ria asked her Poppa hopefully. He just chuckled and gave her a hug.

"No, we just came by to meet this boyfriend of yours I've heard so much about." The man smiled as he kissed her forehead.

Ria grabbed Don's hand and pulled him closer. "Don, this is my Nana and Poppa. Guys, this is Don." She said proudly.

"It's nice to finally meet you, son." Her grandfather said, shaking his hand. "You must be a real gentleman to be able to put with this firecracker." He winked.

"Poppa!" Ria exclaimed.

"Alright everyone, sit down in the kitchen, let's get you kids fed before the Sheriff arrives." Eleanor said, ushering them towards the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, Eleanor had all the 'kids' seated and munching happily. "Sleeping arrangements." Eleanor stated. "Danny and Lindsay, you will share the boys' old room. There are two twin beds in there, its right across from the bathroom. Rianna, you and Don can share your room."

Ria chocked on her sandwich. "My room?" she asked once she'd recovered.

"Your room. And yes, I'm aware that you only have a double bed in there, but I have complete faith in Monty. There is no way that dog will let _anything_ happen between you two in that room." He mother smiled sweetly.

Flack looked at Ria, then looked at the dog, who had his head resting in her lap, obviously waiting for his fair share of her sandwich. "He's harmless." Ria said again. Flack eyed the dog suspiciously.

There was a knock at the door. "That must be the Sheriff." Frank smiled as he got up to answer it.

"Who is the Sheriff anyways?" Ria asked casually.

"Same as always." Eleanor smiled. "Sheriff Wilkins."

Ria stopped mid chew. "You're kidding, right?" Eleanor smiled and shook her head. "He isn't dead yet?"

"No ma'am. I am not." A voice boomed from the kitchen doorway.

Flack watched Ria cringed and turn towards the voice. "Sheriff Wilkins…long time no see, eh?" she smiled weakly.

"Can't say it's been long enough Miss Rianna Jean." The man said his face like stone.

Danny snickered. "You really know how to get in trouble, don't you?"

Ria shot him a look. "A series of misunderstandings is all." She defended.

"As I recall, last time I saw you Miss Rianna Jean, was the night before you left for college." Sheriff Wilkins said as he sat down at the table. "Lover's Point. In the back of Billy Joe Armstrong's truck, wasn't it?"

Danny chocked on his drink, Lindsay's eyes just about popped out of her head. Ria saw Flack's jaw clench out of the corner of her eye.

"I believe so." Ria answered flatly.

Sheriff Wilkins turned to address the others. "Lost count of how many times I had to interrupt the going's on in the back of that truck. This young lady right here is one of the biggest trouble makers this town's ever seen."

Ria just rolled her eyes. "He's over exaggerating. Maybe not about the truck thing, but definitely about the trouble maker thing. Could you fill us in on the case so far, Sheriff?"

"Nice change of subject." The Sheriff smiled. Flack hadn't known this man more than five minutes, and already he hated him. He was definitely going to have to ask Ria about this 'Billy Joe' guy….what the hell kind of name is that anyways?

"Thank you." Ria smiled smugly.

The Sheriff spent the next two hours filling the gang in on what they had so far. The crime scene was still intact, and had been analyzed by one lone CSI assigned by the Province. He had lifted a few prints and picked up what trace he found, but it was too big a crime scene for one person. Once they'd found the link between the Boxing Day murders and this murder, New York was the first phone call.

"Let's head over there now." Lindsay suggested. "Take a look around?"

The Sheriff shook his head. "It's dark out now; we'll get a fresh start in the morning."

"You're kidding, right?" Danny asked. "We process overnight all the time."

"You'll find that things move at a different pace out here." Sheriff Wilkins smiled. "People would get awfully upset if we were making noise, waking them up in the middle of the night."

"He's right. And you kids just got here." Ria's grandmother spoke up. "Why don't you go upstairs and clean up. "We can have a nice chat over tea before bed."

Danny just shook his head as he followed Eleanor up the stairs. It was so different here. These people didn't live one day at a time; they lived one hour at a time.

"Danny and Lindsay, here is your room, and you can use this bathroom here." Eleanor motioned to the bathroom across the hall. "Don, Rianna's got a bathroom attached to her room, so you two will use that. Frank and I have the room on the main floor. We are usually up early, so you kids just come on down for breakfast when you wake up. The donkey starts screaming around 7, so you'll probably be up around then." Eleanor smiled. "We'll see you downstairs for tea."

Flack followed Ria into her room and sat on the bed without saying a word. The dog jumped up onto her bed and curled up for a nap. "I'm going to take a shower, ok?" Ria asked as she opened her dresser in search of a towel.

"Ya, whatever." Flack replied curtly. Ria just looked at him before walking into the bathroom and closing the door. Flack let out a breath. Okay, so he knew he really had no right to be pissed about the whole truck thing. But he was. She noticed, he could tell by the way she looked at him while the Sheriff talked. They hadn't been dating for that long, but she'd known him long enough to be able to tell his mood by just looking at him.

He listened to the sound of the shower running. She was going to let this play on as long as he let it. She was non-confrontational like that. He knew he was going to have to initiate any sort of conversation, no matter how irrational it was. She was probably going to give him hell, but he couldn't stew in his own juices any longer. He got up from the bed and knocked on the bathroom door.

"Can I come in?" he asked. He didn't even wait for a response before stepping into the steam filled bathroom and closed the door behind him.

"Don!" she squealed from inside the shower. Flack would have been extremely turned on right now if he hadn't been so distracted. The shower curtain showed Ria's perfect silhouette. Flack sat down on the toilet. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Who the hell is Billy Joe Armstead, or whatever the hell his name is?" Flack demanded.

Ria poked her head out the side of the shower curtain. "You're not serious? Don, I was 18. That was like…7 years ago." She said before going back into the shower.

"You never told me about him before." Flack said seriously.

"You never asked." She shot back.

"Ria." She said curtly. "I'm serious."

"Me too Don. Do you know how absurd it is that you are pissed off about this? What do you want me to say, huh?" she pulled shut off the shower, wrapped herself in a towel, and pulled back the shower curtain sharply. "Ya, I let him pop my cherry and after that we couldn't get enough of each other so we went at it like rabbits?"

Flack just blinked. He didn't know what to say. He'd never heard Ria use that kind of language. This was definitely not how he wanted this conversation to go. She brushed by him. "Shower's all yours."

Flack cursed under his breath as he started the shower and stripped off his clothes. Maybe if he gave her time to cool down…

He stayed in the shower until the water went cold. Twenty minutes according to his watch. He opened the bathroom door to an empty bedroom. His shoulders slumped with disappointment. Then he remembered that Eleanor was serving tea downstairs, Ria probably went down to join the others. He quickly got dressed and went downstairs.

He tried to hide the disappointment on his face when he entered the living room to find everyone there except for Ria. "Where's Ria?" he asked.

"She's thinking." Eleanor smiled. "Come with me dear."

Flack followed Eleanor to the back door. Eleanor opened the closet and pulled out a jacket. "Here, you'll need this; it's quite nippy out there. And winter boots, you can borrow one of the boys' work boots."

She completed his outfit with a toque with a pompom on the top, and a pair of mittens. "Now, go outside, around to the back of the barn. There will be a big snowdrift, and she'll be lying in the middle of it."

Flack raised a questioning eyebrow.

Eleanor laughed. "I love that child dearly, but sometimes, I don't know why she does certain things. In the winter it's the snowdrift, in the summer it the hayfield." She quickly ushered Flack out the door. He spotted Ria the second he rounded the back of the barn. She was lying in the snowdrift, her legs and arms spread out like a starfish. Flack slowly walked up to her. He didn't say anything, he just stood there.

"I like the stars." She stated without looking at him.

Flack looked up at the sky, and then back down to Ria. "Ria, can we talk?" he asked, almost begging.

"We're talking." She replied, staring up at the sky.

Flack sighed. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean for it to go like that. I didn't want to know that." He paused. "Well I did, just, not in that way. Not the way you said it."

Ria looked over at him. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I made it sound so incredibly vulgar…it wasn't like that."

Flack crouched down beside her. "I'm sorry." He said sincerely.

Ria smiled. "Nice hat." She reached up and tugged on the pompom.

"Does that mean we're ok?" he asked.

"I'm ok if you're ok."

"I'm ok." She smiled.

Flack leaned in for a kiss. Ria returned the kiss wholeheartedly. After a few moments, Ria was getting impatient. She yanked at Flack's arm, causing him to fall on top of her. "That's better." She murmured.

Flack chuckled. "We are sharing a room you know."

"The dog." She said between kisses.

"What about him?" Flack said pulling away.

"When we had company over, on of my brothers would have to share my bed. Of course, we would fight all night long. Eventually, the dog started sleeping between us, and he'd bark and growl when we got in each others faces." Ria explained.

"So? I don't plan on fighting with you." Flack smiled.

"But the dog sleeps between us…and he _will_ put up a stink if you so much as touch me." Ria smiled. "That is why my mother let us share a room."


End file.
